


A Spell of Another World

by RandomFangirl_SQ



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Light Angst, My First AO3 Post, i don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2020-08-20 10:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 50,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20226175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomFangirl_SQ/pseuds/RandomFangirl_SQ
Summary: After a drunken night with Regina, Emma decides to share her feelings with the former queen. Out of fear Regina brutally rejects Emma, causing her to flee. The blonde seemingly needs to escape Storybrooke without actually leaving, where the Spell of Another World comes in. The spell not only transports the caster to a new world, but it shows them what they desperately need to see. Regina confronts her fears, but how will she react when Emma returns from the other world and she is not alone? Time works differently between worlds, for what was only a month for Regina ended up being a year for Emma. Can these two resolve their problems, or will this newcomer keep them apart?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I obviously do not own any of these characters.

Brown eyes slowly opened and quickly shut once more.  _ Gosh, why is it so bright? And why does my brain feel like it's vibrating? _ Regina slowly opened her eyes again and soon located two empty bottles of wine. Well, that explains her throbbing headache. As she attempted to lift herself off the couch she quickly found out that there was something restraining her from getting up. Or rather a someone. 

Emma Swan currently lay asleep in the Mill’s residence. This was nothing new. Rather the two former enemies buried the proverbial hatchet and formed a strong friendship. Their road to friendship had been filled with multiple fights and misunderstandings, but the blonde and the brunette’s bond only came out stronger from it. So to have Emma Swan wake up after spending the night at the mansion was not a surprise. Yet the position the two ladies were in was certainly a first for the pair.

Regina was being cuddled as if she were a teddy bear. She attempted to get up from the couch only to be restrained by strong milky arms. Never having woken up like this before she surely panicked. She quickly stood up resulting in Emma crashing onto the floor. Not exactly the most pleasant way to start the day. 

“Ugh Regina, seriously what the crap? If you wanted to get up you could have woken me, no need to throw me onto the floor.” 

As Regina looked at the now awake Sheriff that lay on her floor, she noticed her state of dress. Or rather her lack of dress. Laying on her floor was an underwear-clad blonde. Olive cheeks turned crimson as she noticed how the other was dressed. Her cheeks reddened further when she realized that she was covered only by underwear as well.

“Miss Swan, would you inform me why you are in my living room half-naked?” The mayor folded her arms over chest, but it was done so out of dominance rather than embarrassment. She was proud of her body and held no shame, she didn’t mind being on display like this. What she did mind was having her personal space invaded. The blonde constantly plagued her thoughts, but now she was taking over her personal space as well. It was unacceptable. 

Hazel eyes admired the beauty in front of her. It was like this was the first time she was seeing Regina. Her alcohol-induced mind did not take in the full perfection that made up Regina Mills. At the sound of a throat being cleared, she realized that she had been caught staring. Emma decided that she better answer the queen and answer her quickly unless she wanted to be a recipient of a fireball. The murderous gaze that the mayor was directing at her was enough, she didn’t want to add magic into the mix.

“Regina relax. Our movie night just got a bit more out of control than we intended. Remember after the end of the last movie when I was trying to close the bottle of wine but I was too drunk that I ended up spilling it on both of us? Well we were too lazy to go change, and neither of us thought of using magic to dry ourselves, so we just decided to take off our clothes. Apparently, that much wine doesn’t agree with us too much.”

“So we just fell asleep on the couch half-naked? Nothing more?”

“Nothing more. We had the blanket so it wasn’t too weird that we just decided on another movie. I guess we must have fallen asleep.”

Regina honestly didn’t know if she was happy or upset that nothing more had happened between the two. She knows she is attracted to her son’s other mother, and she knows that she harbors some sort of feelings for her as well. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if something had happened between the two of them. Or maybe it is just her wishful thinking that if something had happened, it would mean that Emma reciprocated her feelings. Yeah right, if only. 

“Well Miss Swan as nothing happened we can just go about our day.” Regina used magic to get themselves both dressed, realizing that there was no need for the two of them to awkwardly stand in the living room like that. As she spun to leave she was stopped by Emma’s arm.

“Regina wait. You know I am honestly relieved that we didn’t do anything last night, but I am so grateful that it happened. Regina, spending last night with you just talking and flirting with you for hours gave me the courage to finally do what I have been wanting to for such a long time now. I have feelings for you Regina. I am glad that we didn’t sleep together because I want to do this the proper way. I want to take you out on dates, I want to show you just how much you mean to mean to me, and I want to treat you like the queen that you are. I am hoping you feel the same way about me.” 

Brown eyes just stared at her after she confessed her feelings. The few seconds of silence felt like an eternity for Emma. But she couldn’t regret finally putting her feelings out there. She knows that the two have been playing this game for such a long time now. Both wanting more from the other but too scared to make a move. She kept her head held high and refused to break eye contact with the other woman. Besides, they had all but practically confessed their feelings for each other the night before. She had nothing to worry about. 

Or maybe she did.

While that was exactly what Regina wanted to hear, she couldn’t let the blonde know that. The alcohol from last night in combination with the romance movies they watched were merely messing with her head. The Sheriff was projecting her loneliness and making her believe that she had actual feelings for her. Regina couldn’t agree to dating the other woman when she knew that her feelings for her were misplaced. Emma would eventually realize that she didn’t actually care for Regina in that manner and she would leave. Just like they all do. Emma would move on and leave her in the dust. It was best to ignore what she had been longing to hear for so long. Besides who could love the Evil Queen? 

“Ms. Swan stop this nonsense. I’m not sure if some of the movies we watched last night have messed with your brain. We are friends, nothing more and nothing less. This isn’t some grand romance where the two friends are secretly in love with each other. I get it you are lonely, but don’t let your loneliness make you believe that we harbor an attraction for each other. We are just friends.” 

She couldn’t quite say what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that. Regina could deny her feelings all she wants because that was her right. It would be frustrating to have the brunette deny her feelings but again that would be her choice. Because they were her feelings, the keyword being  _ hers _ . But to claim that the blonde’s feelings for her misplaced that is just ridiculous. “You can’t be serious. No one gets to tell me how I feel. That is my right and my right alone. How dare you? I try to open to you and you have the audacity to try and tell me that my feelings aren’t real-”

“Emma honestly I wasn’t trying to tell you how you feel. In all honesty I just need you to leave and pretend like nothing out of the ordinary happened last night, because nothing did. Just two friends who got drunk watching movies and talking. There is nothing to discuss about us or last night. Now I have a meeting in an hour that I need to go get dressed for. I am sure you can find your way out. Good day Miss Swan.”

As Emma saw Regina walk up the stairs to go get ready for the day she knew that the conversation was over. There really was no use in waiting around for the woman. She barely got a word out while they were talking, and now that the conversation had ended, she knew that they would not revisit the topic. Fine. She wasn't going to beg. She wasn’t pathetic. Alright, she wasn’t  _ that _ pathetic. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deciding that there was nothing left for her at the mansion at the moment, Emma made her way to Granny’s. So what if the woman of her dreams had rejected her. It’s fine. Honestly, nothing that a milkshake couldn’t fix. She wasn’t naive enough to actually believe this, but hey you gotta fake it ‘til you make it. 

A bell signaled her entrance to the all but empty diner. She should be happy that there weren’t any patrons to witness her despair, but it also meant that she would get the full attention of the brunette waitress. Ruby was her best friend that she loved beyond belief, but sometimes she was a bit much. Now that she was dealing with being rejected, she really didn’t have it in her to deal with Ruby. 

“Hey Ems, what can I get you?”   
  


Emma perched herself on a stool in front of the counter ready for the onslaught of questioning that Ruby would soon provide. 

“I’ll have a grilled cheese with a side of onion rings. I’ll also have a milkshake. You know what? Actually, make the shake a double.” She wanted comfort food. If her heart hurt the least she could do was make her stomach happy. Calories be damned. 

Ruby raised her brow at the request but said nothing of it. She placed the order and left towards the kitchen. Emma was quite glad that her best friend had spared her from her questioning. 

Ruby returned with her food and all was well until Ruby sat next to her. 

Ruby cleared her throat and lovingly threatened her friend, “Alright, you are going to tell me what is up with you or else you won’t get this food” 

The already aggravated Sherif didn’t take kindly to this. “Ruby I am a paying customer, give me my food or so help me woman. I don’t want to talk, I want to eat.”

The death glare that Emma sent her would have been intimidating to almost anyone else. But the wolf just laughed at it. “I am being serious Emma. No talky, no food.” To emphasize her threat she picked up an onion ring and held it to her mouth.

The blonde narrowed her eyes at the action. “Drop the onion ring or you’re dead woman.” 

“Fine, I won’t eat your food” as she dropped the onion ring back to the plate, “but you better start telling me what is upsetting you so much.”

Emma glared at the brunette but also added on a smile. “Alright, alright. I know you are gonna drag it out of me sooner or later, might as well deal with it now.” She really couldn’t be mad about Ruby’s noisiness. Yes it was annoying at the moment, but all her life she wanted friends and family to care about her, so she really couldn’t complain. She wanted what was best for her after all. 

She took a long swig of her shake and began to recount her night with Regina to Ruby. From arriving at the mansion with beers, a pizza, and a handful of especially sappy rom-com movies, to her leaving said mansion being thoroughly rejected by Regina.

The waitress listened to her friend’s story without interrupting, yet she was eager to offer her advice once the blonde stopped talking. 

“Emma, don’t you see the woman is in love with you? It couldn’t be any clearer than if she proclaimed her love for you from the rooftops.”

Emma just snorted at this. “Yeah Rubes, nothing says love more than her telling me we are just friends.”

“No! Em, think about it. They say when you are drunk you are your most honest self. Didn’t you say yourself that she all but admitted her feelings for you last night?”

Emma nibbled on her sandwich before responding. Hesitantly she confessed, “yeah, she did. If she didn’t I wouldn’t have had the courage to ask her out this morning. But it doesn’t matter, she quickly reminded me that she was drunk and that we are just friends.” She wanted to believe that Regina had feelings for her, but honestly, she was just too scared of getting her hopes up after they had been smashed this morning. 

“Emma, can’t you see? She got scared. She was honest with you last night, but you asking her out made it too real for her this morning. You need to show her somehow that you are serious about your feelings. Show her that your drunken confession to her last night was more than that.”   
  


Of course. How could she not see that? She was just trying to protect herself from getting her hopes up in case her feelings were nothing more than a hazy drunken confession. She was scared of going after something that might leave her burned. Emma should have seen this coming because no one understood that better than Emma. Being sent from foster home to foster home, she eventually gave up hope when she entered a new house. She stopped thinking that the new family would be her forever family to protect herself. If she didn’t try to make it work with them, it would sting less when they inevitably passed her along to the next home. 

“Rubes! You are a genius! Of course, she lied to me this morning, she was scared. I need to show her that I am serious about dating her.” Emma made her way to the door before calling out to her friend, “I’m sorry but I gotta go. I need to make a plan to woo my queen!” 

With Emma’s sudden departure Ruby was left alone at the diner. She smiled to herself happy that she was able to help her friend. She then realized that the Charming had left without paying. Honestly it was a trait that their entire family held, which is why they each held an ongoing tab.She helped herself to the rest of Emma’s food while she thought of different ways that her friend could repay her for her sage advice. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma attempts to 'woo' her Queen. The results are less than desirable.

The day after Emma and Regina’s wild movie night, Regina awoke to a steaming hot cup of coffee placed on her nightstand. This was quite strange, of course, the thought of someone entering into her home and her bedroom while she was asleep to leave a coffee. She was about to freak out further until she realized that is was her week with Henry. Her little prince always took it upon himself to perform random acts of kindness for his mother. She suspects that it might be residual guilt from when he disowned her for being the Evil Queen. She repeatedly told him that he was her son and that she would always forgive him. But she wasn't complaining about the kind acts he was performing. 

She took a sip and realized it was some of the best coffee she ever had. She would have to bribe him into making more for her. She didn’t even own this type of brew. As she got out of bed she made a mental note to ask him about it while thanking him of course.

The next evening as Regina attempted to settle her bill at Granny’s she was promptly turned away. Ruby kindly informed her that her meal was already paid for.

“Excuse me? Who would pay for my meal? I would feel much more comfortable if you just allowed me to pay Ms. Lucas” with this she shoved a twenty-dollar bill at the waitress pleading with her to take it. 

“Sorry Madam Mayor, but I am under strict orders that you aren’t to pay for your meals for the foreseeable future.” Ruby happily informed Regina that she wouldn’t have to pay for her meals for a while. Honestly, she thought that this was possibly the cutest part of Emma’s plans. It was such a thoughtful and simple gesture. It warmed her heart to see her best friend fighting for love.

“Just who is responsible for this?”

“Sorry Regina but my lips are sealed”. 

As Regina turned around and began to walk away Ruby pulled out her phone and pretending to have a conversation with one Emma Swan. Ruby knew that the two women could be quite dense when it came to their feelings, so she wanted to make sure that there was no question about who was behind these charming gestures. Besides it was more fun to give her a hint like this than flat out tell her. 

“Emma, no don’t worry I promise I did exactly as you asked. She didn’t pay for a thing.”

So the werewolf is as discreet as Snow White. Apparently, there were two people that should never be trusted with a secret. So the Sheriff is the one behind this. But why? Regina left the diner with a smile on her lips. Perhaps their friendship wouldn’t be strained at all. Leave it to Emma to surprise her like this. 

Thursday evening as she headed to her car after a long day of work she realized that someone had messed with her car. Or rather someone had fixed her car. Her beloved Mercedes had a cracked windshield that she desperately wanted to get fixed. She loved her car and wanted it to be perfect. A large crack along the windshield did not scream perfection. But she was perplexed as to how this happened. Of course, by now she knew that Emma had something to do with this. But she was more wondering along the lines just how it got fixed. Michael Tillman, the only mechanic in town absolutely hated her. When she went to him to get her car repaired he couldn’t turn her away fast enough. Yet somehow the blonde got him to fix it for her. 

Her worries from earlier in the week quickly faded away as she got in her newly fixed vehicle and drove home. There was a smile on her face thanks to one Emma Swan that did not go away for the duration of her drive.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Regina walked into the mansion exhausted from a particularly stressful day at work. She paused in the foyer when she heard shuffling in the kitchen. It sounded as though someone was moving around pots and pans. Surely it couldn’t be Henry. She repeatedly told him that he was under no circumstances to be in the kitchen when she was not home to supervise. It turns out he had gained his cooking skills from his biological mother. When she came home to a pan of burnt on spaghetti sauce, she couldn’t even be mad at him as he gave her a sheepish smile that reminded her so much of the Sheriff. 

She quickly walked towards the kitchen with a fireball in her hand. She only paused when she noticed a vase of flowers that was not there when she had left for work in the morning. This could mean one of two things. One, she had the world’s worst thief who left flowers in exchange for stealing her cookware. Or two, Emma Swan was in her kitchen preparing a meal as yet another ongoing attempt of “wooing her”. 

When she walked into the kitchen and saw Emma preparing them a special dinner her heart skipped a beat. Her entire life she longed to find a special somebody that cared for her on that level. She would go home to them after a long day of her work and her worries would vanish. To have somebody waiting for her at home, somebody that cared enough for her to make her dinner so she wouldn’t have to, was all she longed for. To have that somebody be the other mother of her child and the woman she was head over heels in love with, well that was just a dream come true. Then it hit her. This couldn’t be real, it was only meant to be a dream that she had. With everything awful she had done in her past, how dare she try to claim a happiness like this?

Regina cleared her throat to get the attention of the intruder in her home who currently stood at the stove with her back to her. The noise made Emma jump a bit and resulted in some sauce landing on her cheek. Emma standing there in a dress making dinner, she couldn’t think of anything more attractive. She wanted nothing more than to march up to the woman and kiss her face clean. But she couldn’t. Rather she wouldn’t. 

“Care to explain to me just what you are doing in my home?”

Emma turned around and grabbed a dishtowel to clean herself before answering. She had been preparing for this moment all week, but now that it was here, she was more than nervous. “Regina, hi. Well, I asked Henry if I could borrow his key so I could sneak in here and make us dinner. I was hoping that we could discuss us and our relationship over a meal? You mean a lot to me Regina, and all week I have been trying to put in an effort to show you just how much I care.”

“Ah yes, those sweeping gestures that I have recieved all week. I seem to recall that I gave you no response after each and every gesture you made, yet here you are. Didn’t my silence give you an idea as to how I felt about the whole thing?”

“Well I admit that it did give me some pause, but I thought you were just digesting all of this? Was I wrong? I thought that after our movie night we sort of passed a milestone in our relationship.” It took everything that Emma had to remain strong. She knew that Regina was going to be stubborn, she experienced it first hand that eventful morning. She was hoping that her acts of kindness throughout the week would have softened her up some more. But alas when would anything be simple for the two of them?

“Miss Swan nothing happened that night, nothing was going to happen between us then, nor will anything ever happen between us in the future. We flirted a bit and that is all. I may have entertained the idea of something more happening between us but luckily I came to my senses before it did. I give you a bit of attention and suddenly you are as bad as Sydney Glass.”

“Excuse me? How am I anything like him?” She folded her arms over her chest defensively. Honestly, that was one of the worst insults she has ever gotten. She might as well compared her to Captain Hook or the Pinecone, it would have been just as bad. 

“I gave the both of you some minor attention while I was lonely. And both of you latched onto the attention believing that it meant I was madly in love with you. Honestly dear you are looking at me with those same puppy dog eyes that he always directs at me.”

“That is not the same thing and you know it! Regina how you could stand here and say these horrible things to me. I love you don't you understand that? I really thought you felt the same.." Hazel eyes pleaded with her to see the truth and sincerity in her words. She was laying everything out for Regina, the least she could do was to truly listen to her words.

Regina let out a malicious chuckle that had Emma mentally preparing herself for the cruel words that would spew from her mouth.

"Dear, what would the orphan know about love? You thought I cared for you? The same way your parents cared for you before abandoning you? Or how about how Neal cared for you before he too abandoned you in prison no less." She paused and let her words truly sink in. "I don't blame you for your confusion though. How can you recognize what love truly feels like when no one has genuinely loved you before?"

Emma's eyes shown bright with all of the tears that she absolutely refused to let fall in front of the other woman. Her superpower was ringing like crazy. She called bullshit on all of this. But it didn't mean that her words didn't hurt like hell. No one has hurt her this much before, and the fact that it was coming from Regina of all people, well it was like twisting the knife in her gut. 

Sure she could yell at Regina right back. She could throw at hurt some of the most hurtful comments that she could think of. But really what was the use? This wasn't years back where they both tried hurting each other with the deepest blows possible. She wasn't going to hurt the woman she loved even though Regina just stomped on all of her insecurities. She would choose the higher road. Archie would be so proud. 

She continued to stare at Regina blankly. She didn't want her to know just how much she had hurt her. She kept telling herself that if she didn't react, then she would leave with her dignity intact. She wouldn't let Regina make her feel any lesser just because she was scared of her feelings. She gave the other woman a look of disappointment and disbelief as she turned to leave the mansion. 

As she passed Regina flowers were quickly shoved into her chest. 

"Here dear. It's best if you take these with you. Perhaps they will help with the heartbreak?"

"Whatever" she snatched the flowers and walked right out of the mansion. Of course, Regina wouldn't let her leave without having the last word.

She slammed the door behind her, feeling the relief of being away from the other woman. She knew that all of that in there, whatever the hell all of that was, was total crap. Honestly, she had no idea where it left them. She knew Regina didn't mean all of that, but it doesn't make it any better. Even if the other apologized would she be able to forgive her? Would she want to? 

Thinking about what was left of their relationship left her truly frustrated. She threw the flowers on the porch and stomped on them for good measure. It was the only display of emotion that she allowed herself to have. It was a bit petty of her to leave the mess on Regina’s porch, but she just had her heart torn from her chest so she figured she was allowed to be at least a bit immature. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the slam of the door, Regina wrapped her arms across herself and let out a sob. Now that the confrontation was over, she was able to realize just how truly horrible she was. Emma came here to confess her love, and instead of running into her arms like she wanted to, she pushed the woman away as far as she could. 

After she was sure that the Sheriff was long gone Regina made her way to the front porch. She was pulled to the place that the blonde last was. She almost tricked herself into believing that if by some chance the blonde was still at her door, it would mean that there was hope for the two of them. If she wasn’t gone, she could make it all better. 

She opened the door only to be greeted by the absence of the one she wanted the most. In lieu of Emma, there was a trampled set of flowers laying on her porch. Oh, how ironic. The most beautiful bouquet she had ever seen now lay on her porch broken and battered all because she had touched them. 

She knelt down and gently scooped up what remained of the flowers. A wave of her hand and a preservation spell was enacted over them. She couldn’t help but repeatedly berate herself as she made her way to her room as if on autopilot. Oh my dear sweet Emma, you didn’t deserve this. 

Regina lay on her bed clutching the flowers as if they were her life source. Seeing how broken the flowers were only reminded her of the same brokenness she saw in Emma just a short while ago. All of the pain clearly shown on her face. She caused that. 

You idiot! How could you do that to the woman that you love? You have been dreaming of her confessing her love to you for years, and now that she did you practically ripped out her heart and crushed it. As Regina lay on her bed replaying the scene over and over again in her head she was at war with herself. She was completely and utterly devasted at having lost Emma. The only pain that had rivaled this is when she thought that she had lost Henry to the other woman.

Not even Daniel’s death had caused this type of reaction from her. Yes, she loved him and would always love him, but the love she had for him versus the love she has for Emma are two completely separate things. Her love for him was sweet and innocent, but very naive. If Daniel could see the woman that she was today he would surely shun her. But Emma. That sweet idiot saw all of her flaws and embraced her for it. All of the dark things that happened in her life only brought her closer to the other woman, the only one who could ever truly understand her. After all, you can't love someone you didn’t understand. 

But right now she didn’t understand herself. How could she be so cruel to the one woman she wanted to protect against all costs? When Emma confessed her love she was so overwhelmed. Her heart told her to go up to the woman and kiss her and convey that her love was very much reciprocated. Yet her fear and insecurities told her to push Emma as far away as possible. Villains don’t get happy endings, and Emma deserves nothing but the best. She had already hurt Emma so much, as she blamed herself for being the reason her love grew up so alone in this world. A relationship with her would only lead to pain for the both of them. She would do something to hurt Emma and drive her away. Regina couldn’t handle it if she fell for Emma even further and she left. She became the Evil Queen when she lost Daniel, she didn’t want to think of how horrible she would become if she ever lost Emma. So she ran. Or rather she pushed. 

Pushing Emma away the first time clearly didn’t work so she had to be a bit more aggressive this time. The pain that she would cause her now would be nothing compared to the pain that she would cause the woman later if they had ever ended up together. It didn’t mean that saying those things to her love didn’t utterly break her. She channeled the Queen to deal with Emma because she needed to be cold and distant. She just didn’t plan on going full EQ on her. She wanted to push away any romantic feels the blonde held for her, but now she would be lucky if the woman ever talked to her again. See you can’t even control yourself. You destroy everything around you without even trying. Her mind kept berating her for causing the blonde so much pain, yet there was a small ounce of hope within her. Perhaps in the morning she would go grovel to Emma and beg for forgiveness. The idea of apologizing let along begging had her cringing, but it was for Emma, and she would do anything for her. But it would have to wait until the morning. Right now the woman was completely drained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am reuploading this story. I started to doubt my work and deleted my story. But I started this, and I want to finish it. Besides I love reading the comments and seeing the kudos. I am currently working on chapter 3, so an update is coming soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Calm Before the Storm

Emma not knowing what else to do made her way to Ruby’s apartment. She knocked on her door and when the other woman opened her door she just lost it.

“Em oh my gosh whats wrong? Em, you have to talk to me.” Ruby instantly became worried when she saw the state that Emma was in. While she had come a long way from being the closed-off woman who first came to Storybrooke, it is hard to change old habits. She never saw Emma show anything like this before, so to open the door to her balling on her doorstep, well it was more than alarming.

“-It. Regina, I talked…” Emma honestly thought she was responding, but to Ruby, it was nothing more than a couple of grunts. The only thing that she caught from the response was Regina, an honestly it made perfect sense. The only times Emma showed any type of strong emotion, it always came back to Regina some way. This added to the fact that she had urged her friend to pursue a relationship with Regina just a few days ago, she quickly realized that Emma’s current state was Regina’s fault.

Brown eyes quickly sparked gold. Ruby had to close her eyes and will herself to calm down. She had much better control of her wolf now, but when she got really angry like she currently is, her wolf begged to be set free. She wanted nothing else than to give Regina a piece of her mind, but Emma was more important. Emma needed her and she wouldn’t leave her.

“Alright, Ems. Come inside let's get you sat down and you can tell me everything.”

But sit did she did not. Emma went straight to Ruby’s liquor cabinet and started drinking whiskey straight from its bottle. The burn didn’t register in Emma’s mind. Or maybe it did, rather a burn in her throat than the burn in her heart. She chugged the alcohol like it was her life source and it didn’t look like she would stop anytime soon. That was until the brunette snapped out of her shock.

“Okay, I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but whatever you are looking for is not at the bottom of that bottle. I love you and I refuse to let you do this to yourself.” Snatching the bottle right out of her mouth, Ruby pointed towards the couch. “Now go sit your ass down Emma or I will make you.”

Now a stern voice like that wouldn’t normally intimidate Emma. She was ready to laugh off her friend’s demand when she saw eyes glimmer gold. Ruby, she wasn’t afraid of. Her wolf was a whole other story.

“No one wants me. Rubes, I told her I loved her and she told me I didn’t know what love was” she had to take a moment and pull herself somewhat together. Her sobs were begging to escape, but she had shown enough weakness already. Ruby was her friend but she hated being vulnerable in front of anyone. “She’s right I am just an unlovable orphan. Ruby why doesn’t anyone want me?”

It came out as such a quiet whisper that Ruby wouldn’t have been able to hear her friend without her enhanced hearing. _That bitch could be so heartless_. Sure she knew that Regina was capable of horrible things, they didn’t call her the Evil Queen for nothing. She just honestly thought that the woman had changed. That love had changed her.

“Emma, I love you. But I don’t want to hear another word come out of your mouth right now. Got it?” Her glare made sure that she got the message. “You are an amazing woman. Emma everyone in this town adores you. Henry loves you, your parents love you, I love you. Hell, the whole town loves you. Now forget about what Her Bitchiness said. Everything she told you was just fear. I’m sure she thinks all that about herself, not you.”

She paced around the living room completely livid._ This is all my fault. I encouraged her to pursue Regina. I’m part of the reason she’s so broken right now._ She was angry at herself, but more importantly, she was angry at Regina. The woman truly ruined everything she touched. “You are going to stay with me tonight, and tomorrow, and however long it takes for you to realize that you are special Emma. Her words don’t mean a single thing. I know this is hard for you to believe because of your past but listen to me closely. You deserve better. You deserve the world.”

  
Ruby got Emma off from the couch and squished her with a big old bear hug--_or was it a wolf hug?_ She led the blonde to her bedroom the rest. Nothing to help heal a heart than cuddling with your best friend.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the next few days, there was radio silence between the two women. Emma didn’t mind because she still needed time to heal. She was so angry with Regina that seeing her would only add fuel to the flames. Yet the brunette was missing her Sheriff. She decided that she needed to see her. It was like there was a string that was tugging at her desperately trying to lead her to the woman that unknowingly held her heart.

Emma only ended up staying one night with Ruby. While she was still plagued with her insecurities, she forced herself to put on a brave face. Part of her believed what Ruby was saying, that she did hold so much love from the town. But the insecurities were always nearby to remind her that she had been rejected and abandoned yet again. Regina may not love her romantically, she was still her best friend. To have the other woman start treating her like the enemy again simply because she loved her, well that is what hurt her the most. Being rejected was one thing, but then losing the most important friendship she ever had? It was soul-shattering.

When things got too heavy for Emma she made sure to remember what things were on her side. She had her family, her son, a town that loved her, and her friends (well mostly). She survived without Regina’s love before and she was certainly going to survive now.

As she walked down main street she almost felt a genuine smile creep up on her face as the thought of all of the positives in her life. Then she saw her. The person who use to shine the brightest in her world. Now her presence was more like a dark void that left her feeling dull and empty.

She quickly made her way into the station and into her office. She let out a breath of relief as she sat down on her chair and reminded herself that Regina had walked into Granny’s. She didn’t have to deal with her. Not yet at least.

It didn’t last. It looked like Granny’s was the only stop the brunette was making.

Regina walked into the Sheriff’s station with paperwork in hand. Shad a renewed confidence in her. There was nothing like a good pencil skirt and killer heels combination that could bring her back into her element. She would banter with the Sheriff and they would be back to their old ways, everything would be how it was supposed to.

As a certain Sheriff heard the distinct sound of heels against the tiles she groaned. Out loud. Very loudly. So loudly that the Mayor quickly understood that her visit was not a welcomed one.

The glare she got from the blonde as a greeting was her final clue that this was a mistake.

_This was a mistake. I can’t just leave without talking to her though, I would look more like a coward. Regina Mills is no coward. Just bring up the fake town issues that you invented._ “Sheriff Swan it has come to my attention that there has been an increase in vandalism around Storybrooke and the Sheriff’s department has done nothing to quell this outbreak. What do you have to say about that?”

  
“Vandalism? Are you referring to Rapunzel painting the outside of her shop without the proper paperwork beforehand? She was painting her own property. That isn’t vandalism!?”

“Yes well, the graffiti on the side of the building begs to differ.”

“Those are murals, Regina. It isn’t graffiti it is art. It isn’t a nuisance, people see her art and it brings quite a bit of them just a small bit of happiness. I know something like that must be hard for you to understand. You know having to use your heart and all…”

She shouldn’t have said it. It was immature on so many levels. She just couldn’t help herself. Regina ignored her for days, and now that she was finally talking to her, she didn’t even get an apology. She got this half-assed vandalism excuse to make her seem incompetent at her job.   
“Miss Swan do I need to remind you that I am your boss? You will keep personal matters outside of the workplace. Talk to me like that once again and you might not retain that Sheriff’s badge on your hip. Now do something about our vandalism issue or it will be further evidence that you are incapable of doing your job.”

She stormed off with a fire in her chest. A small part of her understood that she was heartbroken over the way she treated Emma. The blonde had treated her so coldly. She clearly deserved it but it was further proof of what she had so easily destroyed. She couldn’t stand the pain from losing one of the most relationships in her life, so she decided to focus on the anger. She knew anger, it was familiar, soothing almost. No, she wasn’t heartbroken over Emma Swan, no she was angry at her for causing all this strife in her life.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taking a last-second breath of courage, Henry raised his knuckles and knocked upon his mother’s door. Normally he wouldn’t dare to interrupt her while she was in her study because the woman that was in that room, it wasn’t Henry’s mom Regina, rather it was Madam Mayor Regina. He supposed her added agitation came from dealing with all of the paperwork that came with running a town full of idiots, as his mother liked to call them.

He didn’t get a reply, but he let himself in nonetheless.

“Mom, I need to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with me. I am only asking because I care about the both of you.” Henry gave a sheepish smile and admitted “You two are both my moms and I want both of you to be happy. So tell me, what happened between you two?”

“Darling, why would you assume that something happened between Ms. Swan and I?”

“For one, you just called her Ms. Swan. You only do that when you are annoyed with her or you are fighting. Two, she hasn’t been over here for dinner since forever. We had family dinners multiple times a week and then all of a sudden they just stopped.”

“You are a smart boy, my dear. I won’t lie to you. We had a disagreement and it brought tension upon us. Tension that I don’t believe is going to disappear.” She saw the way the young boy was hanging his head down in disappointment. “I’m sorry Henry.”

  
Her mind kept picturing the tears in his eyes that she just witnessed. Tears that she had a part in creating. The tension with Emma was affecting him and that wasn’t fair. Thinking about her big confrontation left quite the feeling in the pit of her stomach. But what she couldn’t decipher is if that feeling was of sorrow or of anger?

One thing was clear. She had to speak to Emma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please let me know what you think. Anything you liked? Disliked? Anything you want to see/don't want to see in the story? Feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's gotta give

SassySherrifSwan: Rubes are you free to come over tonight?

RedRidingRuby: Inviting me over at night Sherrif? Well, I’m completely scandalized ;)

SassySherrifSwan: ...It is actually important Rubes.

RedRidingRuby: Of course Ems. I can be at your place around 7?

SassySherrifSwan: Perfect. Thanks for making time for me, I know its completely last minute.

RedRidingRuby: Anything for you cutie. 

RedRidingRuby: Plus you can thank me by taking some of my night shifts ;)

  
  
“Knock knock bitch open up, I brought booze!” Ruby obnoxiously shouted at the wooden door that separated Storybrooke from Emma’s apartment.

Emma ran to the door when she heard Ruby outside. She opened the door so quickly she was surprised she didn’t damage it in any way. Quickly ushering her friend inside she commanded “Ruby keep it down! You are going to have the entire neighborhood upset with me!”

At this Ruby just snorted. “What are they going to do? Call the Sheriff?”

“Ugh just sit down already. I really do need to talk to you. I’m not used to this whole touchy-feely type thing, so I need you to be patient with me.” In all honesty, Emma was terrified. She knew that she could trust Ruby, but she also had known she could trust Regina. Trusting Regina had gone horrible. In her heart, she knew that this situation was completely different and that Ruby would never hurt her like that. Still, it was hard to silence the doubts that had plagued her for so long.

Ruby’s response was to grab the bottle of tequila she had stored in her purse. She held it up for Emma to see. “I thought you might say that, so I brought a bit of liquid courage with me.”  
  
Ruby was thrilled when she received Emma’s text. She wanted to talk to the other woman about the situation for a while, but she decided that it was best if Emma came to her first. Yet Emma sure took her sweet time before coming to Ruby for help. Any longer and the brunette would have been forced to intervene.

Emma’s only response was a raise of her eyebrow and the small smirk that graced her face.

She opened up the cap and held the bottle out for her friend to grab. “I know, I’m amazing. You can thank me later, but drink up woman.”

Emma happily took the bottle from her friend and took a hard long swig from it. She was happy Ruby thought to bring it as it would loosen her up. She was also partly touched that her friend was so considerate. She cleared her schedule because Emma needed her, she brought the liquor because she thought it might give Emma the little push that she needed. If only little Orphan Emma could see her now, she really had it all.  


“Okay, you have had your liquid courage, now spill. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

Emma took a deep breath. She knew that it was just Ruby and that she could trust her with everything. But going to somebody and asking them for help? Well, that was something she still wasn’t used to. She squeezed her eyes closed for a second. It was like ripping off a Band-Aid, she just needed to get it out there. “I need you to help me avoid Regina.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ruby laid her palm on Emma’s arm and looked her right in the eye. “Of course. Anything you need.”

Emma was grateful for her friend’s eagerness to help, but she was a bit confused. It seemed a bit out of character for Ruby.

“Really, just like that? No teasing or no demanding of more information?”

“Ems, I know how much you are hurting right now, I’m not going to tease you over something like that. Your eyes used to shine so brightly whenever Regina was in the same vicinity as you. Now you recoil a little when you see her like you know you are going to get hurt.”

Ruby decided that her heart to heart with Emma required some courage on her part. She snatched the bottle from the blonde and took a long hard drink. She continued on, “besides, I can’t help but feel that this is somewhat my fault. I know that I didn’t make Regina act like a total bitch to you. But I encouraged you to go after her.” She leaned over and gave her friend the biggest hug they had ever shared. She just hated how hurt Emma had been lately. “I’m so sorry Ems.”

Emma pushed Ruby back a bit so that she could make eye contact with her friend. “You did nothing wrong. You thought that going after Regina would make me happy. I thought that going after her would make me happy. The only one I am mad at is her. But I’m not even all that angry, at this point I’m just hurt.”

Ruby raised her eyebrow in confusion. She knew that her friend was hurt, but she expected there to be a whole lot more anger than what she was saying.

Emma saw Ruby’s confusion and decided to explain further. “When she told me that she didn’t care for me, well I knew that it was a lie. Superpower, you know? So I know that everything she is telling me is total B.S. but it just hurts that she pushed me away. Like she couldn’t tell me the real reason she is being like this. She is hiding something, and it hurts that she won’t confide in me. It hurts that I put myself out there and she just threw me away.”

Emma took a moment to regain her composure. She felt the moisture roll down her cheek. She wiped at the stray tear and continued to confide in her friend. “I am angry at her for ruining our friendship. But I’m not mad at the horrible things she continues to tell me because I know they are all lies. Do they hurt like hell? Well yeah, of course, they do. But at least somewhere in my heart, I know that her words aren’t true.”

Ruby was yet again amazed at the kindness of Emma Swan. The woman had one of the hardest lives that she had ever heard about, yet she didn’t let the world defeat her. When so many people had been unkind to Emma, she continued to have the capacity for love in her heart. Yes, she was weary to love, but once she did, she did it with her whole heart. Her friend had never shown herself to be a spiteful woman, and she completely admired her friend for that.

“Okay yeah, that makes sense. If it were might I would be downright furious with her, hell I am furious with her for how she treated you, but I understand. Now, what do you need me to do?”

Emma had a couple of ideas but she wasn’t sure if they were exactly the best. I mean could she really avoid Regina, especially in a town like Storybrooke? “Well I guess maybe the small stuff? Like if you are working at Granny’s and you see her there during my usual times maybe let me know? And the monthly meeting between the Sheriff’s and Mayoral office, could you go to that for me? It’s not much but I think anything would help at this point.”

“Em, you are my best friend. I would do anything for you. Consider it done.”

Emma brushed away the last of the water in her eyes and gave Ruby the biggest smile she could manage. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“Oh stop being so sappy. Now that is enough emotions for today thank you very much. Now turn on some reality tv so we can judge other people’s life choices.” She then proceeded to pull out yet another bottle of liquor in her purse. This wasn’t liquid courage though. This was for a fun night in with her best friend.

She meant what she said about helping Emma at all costs. She had never felt so in-sync with someone else before. Snow had been her best friend, but that was in the Enchanted Forrest. Here she much preferred the daughter over the mother. She still liked Snow, but her best friend was Emma. She and Emma just clicked. Technically she was the blonde’s godmother, so the wolf in her made her feel extremely protective of the younger woman. Ruby was just upset that her advice had led to her to so much heartbreak. She would help her avoid Regina as much as possible. And if Regina was smart? Well, she would avoid Ruby as well.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regina walked into the Sheriff's station like she owned the place. The two deputies on duty tried to stop her in an attempt to keep her from Emma. But she hadn't seen the woman in so long she completely ignored them when they spoke to her. 

Once she finally saw the woman she so longed to see, well she couldn't be stopped.

Regina cleared her throat and spoke loudly "Miss Swan?"

The blonde couldn't be bothered to tear her eyes from her phone. She just couldn't deal with another confrontation with Regina. The two had been at each other's throats so much lately. It was like they were transported back to before the curse broke.

Regina's entire demeanor changed when Emma refused to acknowledge her. She actually wanted this to be a civil conversation, she missed the other woman and wanted to see her. Her heart broke that she had done this. The other woman refused to acknowledge her because of all the pain she caused her. Yet the Evil Queen in her flared at this blatant show of disrespect. "Miss Swan you will acknowledge me when I address you. Furthermore, would you like to explain to me why you are playing on your phone during work hours?"

With this Emma finally looked up. She rolled her eyes right at the other woman to show her just how unimpressed she was with this show. “Regina you just passed by two of my deputies as you made your way back here. They are both working and they could both easily assist you with whatever you may need. I am not as incompetent as you say. I am on my phone not doing anything because I am on my lunch break. You know the one hour away from work that I am entitled to?”  
  
“Well, perhaps I simply wanted to speak with you, Sherriff. I am the Mayor, after all, I shouldn’t have to deal with your subordinates when I can go straight to the source.” Regina realized that what she was doing was wrong. It was so wrong. Here she came to harass Emma because she missed her. Why couldn’t she be like any sane person and just apologize?

She knew why. She wanted -no she needed- Emma as far from her as possible- at least romantically. Apologizing might put the idea of romance back on the table. She knew that Emma was such a better person than her if she should apologize she knew that Emma would forgive her faster than she deserved.

“Fine, but come back in an hour. I am not going to waste my lunch over you and I’m not going to allow you to just stand there and insult me.”

“Why dear, wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that you were telling me you loved me? I thought you would be rather pleased to spend time in my presence.” She was so selfish, she wanted to push Emma away to keep her safe, but she couldn’t bear to have her out of her life. Her heart wanted Emma, but her brain told her to spare the both of them the pain. The pain that she was causing Emma now? Well, she honestly didn’t have an excuse for that. Regina was hurting inside so much that she just needed to lash out. Emma didn’t deserve this. Yet another reason why she didn’t deserve the beautiful blonde in front of her.  
  
“That is it, Regina. You are a cruel spiteful woman and I have had enough. I don’t want to deal with you anymore. I am done. If you have an actual problem that you need to deal with here, even though I highly doubt that you do, you can do so with my deputies. The only time I want to speak with you is if it is about Henry. I have tried being civil with you but it seems as you are incapable of being a decent human being.” Emma tried so hard to remain angry. She was angry, finding her anger wasn’t the problem. The problem was that she was unbelievably hurt. Regina was her best friend, to have the woman treat her like she was her enemy, it stung like no other. She thought Regina truly loved her back, she cared for the woman, and to be thrown away like garbage? Well that hurt more than any of her former foster families’ rejections.

“Sheriff you seem to be forgetting about our monthly meeting. You know the one between the Mayor and the Sheriff?” She was grasping at straws but she needed to keep the other woman in her life. She needed it. What would she do without Emma?

“Actually Madam Mayor, this may surprise you, but I have been reading about the official job duties of the Sheriff’s office. Nowhere in the paperwork does it state that I have to be the one meeting with you, all I need is a representative of the Sheriff's office. Either of my deputies would be more than qualified to attend these meetings. So like is said Regina, unless it is about Henry, or it is a serious situation that needs the Sheriff's presence, I want you to leave me the hell alone. Now we are done here.” 

Emma turned her back to Regina and made her way to her office. Slamming the door for good measure. _It wasn’t immature at all_. It was just all too much for her. Regina bringing up her feelings for her and using it against her? It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Something needed to change, she couldn’t afford to keep going on like this.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At seeing Ruby enter the Mayor’s office Kathryn softly groaned to herself. She didn’t hold anything against the young waitress/deputy, rather she knew that the young brunette’s presence would do nothing to alleviate the foul mood that her boss had been in for weeks now. None of this was Ruby’s fault, but no one could blame Kathryn for wanting a workplace free of a bitchy boss. One could only dream. With only a small smile directed to the brunette, Kathryn bit the bullet informing her boss that the Sheriff's department was there for the weekly meeting. 

Regina would deny it if anyone were to ask, yet Kathryn saw a light shine in the mayor’s eyes as she opened the door to her office. A light that was quickly replaced with a frown that she did not try to disguise upon seeing that the blonde Sheriff had eluded yet another meeting._ Still, too much of a coward to attend these meetings that she sends her lap dog instead_, Regina bitterly thought to herself upon first glance of Ruby. The thought of Ruby _belonging_ to Emma in any sort of fashion did not send fire through her veins. Of course not, she didn’t care what the blonde did outside of the workplace. Although she did care that she was far too childish to do her job.

“Ms. Lucas how about I make this clear. My weekly meeting is with the Sheriff’s department, so how about having the Sheriff show up? I am the Mayor, my time is valuable. I am much above having to deal with a lowly deputy. If the Sheriff is this incompetent to show up for a simple meeting perhaps I need to rethink Ms. Swan’s position as Sheriff.” At this Regina had to break her eye contact with Ruby, she just had to look away. The Queen was never one to back down from a fight but the mere thought of not seeing Emma again and firing her as Sheriff made her sick to her stomach, she could barely get the lie out of her mouth. Had she looked at the young Deputy surely she would have seen right through her facade. She couldn’t let any softness show, lest Ruby report this back to Emma. To protect Emma she had to push her away. There could be no other way. 

“Honestly I don’t know what Emma ever saw in you. Madam Mayor you need to grow up and stop making everyone so miserable”. _What Emma ever saw in you?_ It really shouldn’t have felt like she had just been punched in the gut, but it hurt. Had Emma so quickly gotten over the passionate love that she had declared for her only a few weeks prior? Of course, she had. While the Mayor’s heart might swell at just the mere thought of the blonde, her actions did nothing to prove this. To protect the both of them she had decided to push the Sherriff away before either of them got hurt, but hearing that Emma no longer held these feelings for her made her want to cry in despair. Of course, this information came from a gossip-prone brunette rather than the woman who held her heart, she let the seed of doubt sprout into her mind tenfold. No one had ever loved her the way her blonde idiot had, and now it seems that no one will ever love her in such a manner, for her blonde was never even hers. 

“Seeing as you refuse to do your job and have the meeting we had scheduled, I will go ahead and go. But Madam Mayor, between the Sherriff’s office and your office, it is clear just who is being unprofessional.” With that, the deputy turned around and made her way out of the Mayor’s office. She didn’t want to push her luck, she already spoke to the former Evil Queen in a way no one besides Emma would dare to do, she wasn't about to stay around so a trademark Mill’s fireball could find a new home on her body. 

Kathryn saw an opportunity to finally set everything straight with Regina without interruption. If Regina wasn’t going to spend the hour with the Deputy in a meeting, she would surely spend the hour speaking to her best friend. “Alright Regina, enough is enough. Sit down, we are finally going to talk.” While the brunette had become lost in thought as the deputy departed, Kathryn decided that she had enough of this. Grabbing her boss by her elbow she led her back into her office and gently pushed her onto her chair. 

Regina quickly composed herself after being manhandled by her assistant.“Kathryn, what are you doing? May I remind you that I am your boss?” While she may be proud that she is no longer the Evil Queen and no longer seen as such, she wouldn’t allow anyone to treat her just as some commoner. 

“You are my boss, but you are my friend first. Now you have always been a bitch, but now you are being extremely bitchy to everyone, and I know why but I need all of the details so I can help you.”

  
“I don’t need your help--”

  
Kathryn took a step forward. She was already in too deep. She already poked the dragon, might as well make the most of it. She came up with her best poker face that could even rival Regina’s. “Shut your mouth and for once accept help from a friend. I know you think you have everything under control but you are miserable, Emma is miserable, and you are in a worse mood than you were before the curse broke.”

Kathryn felt like she couldn’t take much more of this behavior from her friend. She and the Mayor had gotten surprisingly close after she got over the whole kidnapping and faking her murder thing. Regina would let her walls come down with her friend occasionally, and it gave Kathryn a viewing of the true Regina Mills, not the Queen, not the Mayor, but just Regina. Just Regina was by far her favorite version of the woman, but this Regina was quite the elusive one, that would only appear for certain people and in certain situations. The quiet blonde had observed the interactions between Emma and Regina and she noticed one key thing. No matter how briefly every time the blonde was with her, the true Regina would make an appearance. This was all she needed to know that Regina had to figure out whatever her problem was and make it right with the Sheriff. 

Regina took a minute to simply gather her thoughts. She fought back her rage as she knew her friend was only trying to help her. “Kathryn, I will only tell you that what is done is done. Talking about it will not fix matters in any shape or form.” She hoped that by giving her friend a vague yet informational answer she would drop it. She considered it the equivalent of throwing a dog a bone.

“Neither you or I will leave this office until I have gotten to the bottom of whatever this is. You will tell me every pertinent detail from the beginning of it. Then hopefully we will figure out how to solve this whole problem.” Kathryn was really hoping that Regina was buying this bravado that she was trying to exude. She cared immensely for her friend but knew that tough love was the only way that she would get past her numerous walls. 

“You are insufferable fine. Take a seat and get comfy, because this is going to take a while…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta love best friends right? Both Kathryn and Ruby come to the rescue. Don't worry, Kathryn is gonna knock some sense into Regina. 
> 
> PS. It hurts so much to write Regina being horrible to Emma :(


	5. Chapter 5

Ruby strutted into the station with one goal in mind. To fix the problem she made. Well, in reality, it was Regina’s fault, but she had encouraged her friend to go after the supposedly ‘former’ Evil Queen, and the blonde had gotten hurt. While the wolf had an idea a few weeks ago about how she could help her friend she wanted to make sure that it all checked out first. She rested the takeout order onto her bosses' desk and blinded her with one of her brightest smiles. “One special delivery for one special Sheriff.” While Emma never blamed Ruby for encouraging her to go after Regina, a few brownie points with your best friend/boss never hurt. 

Emma looked up at her friend and gave her the warmest smile she could offer. She loved the idea that someone would do something nice for her just to make her happy. It was something she sorely lacked when she was a child. “What’s this for?”

“I think I have a solution to your problem and I wanted to bring celebratory food to mark this joyous occasion”

She rolled her eyes at her friend’s dramatic response. “You are honestly the biggest dork I know. But seriously what are you talking about?”

“Well I was thinking about how you have been hurting lately. What’s a better solution to help a heart than some distance and time away? You need to get out of Storybrooke for a while. It will do you good.”  


“Rubes, we talked about this. I am the Sheriff, I can’t really leave. Plus I’m half of the team when it’s time to save the day. I can’t go out in the real world where none of you can follow.”

Ruby rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend. “I knew you would say that! But after last time we talked, I thought more about how you could leave without leaving. Magic!”

Emma lifted her eyebrow at her friend encouraging her to continue, while she happily munched on her free lunch.

“I asked Belle to look through some of the books on magic that she had. There is this spell that is pretty straightforward. It is designed to show the caster what they desperately need to see. It transports them into another world designed to fulfill the spell’s purpose. You can come back at any time you want, plus we can call you back by following the spell’s instructions.” Ruby tilted her head upwards and beamed at her friend. She was quite proud of herself for finding this solution. She wanted to help Emma and now she had the perfect solution for it.

“So just like that? It will allow me to leave and comeback? Is it safe to use?”

“It’s completely safe. I talked to Belle about it, and she did a ton of research. Everywhere she read it said the spell was pretty straightforward and safe. We even took it to Blue to be sure. Apparently Blue has encouraged some of her charges to use it to help them through a tough point in life.”

It actually took Ruby a really long time to pull this all together. Belle had been hesitant to look into the books at Gold’s shop. She eventually caved when the waitress offered her free food at Granny’s for a month. She kept that a secret or else Granny would kill the young wolf. Once Belle did find the spell, she had to bribe her even more to look more into it to make sure it was safe. Then she took her findings to Blue who was hesitant to share information about magic with a non-magic user. She promised that the nuns could have there next holiday party at Granny’s for the information. There really was no way to keep that from Granny, so come next December she will be a dead woman, but that could wait.

For now Emma needed her. So with an eager look on her face she asked her friend, “so what do you think?”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you two had a drunken one night stand and you got scared?”

Regina closed her eyes to gain her composure. She didn't want to lash out at Kathryn as she was only trying to help. But honestly, nothing frustrated her more than having to repeat herself. So early on in her story and the blonde already got the facts wrong.

“No Kathryn, we did not sleep together, but we did wake up together in the morning.”

“Wait, so you two were both drunk and you didn’t sleep together? Really?”

She couldn’t deny that. She found the blonde so delectable with her luscious curls, the strong arms, and that confident demeanor. With the not so subtle glances that Emma always directs at her cleavage and her backside, she knows that the blonde is attracted to her too. “We didn’t sleep together because if that were to ever occur, it would be when the two of us were completely sober. Besides not like that would ever occur now with what I’ve done.”

“What exactly did you do? I need all of the pieces of the story.”

“After we woke up I snapped at her and told her to leave. I figured my dismissal would discourage her from approaching the topic again. Yet the stubborn fool surprised me yet again. All week long she lived up to her Charming name and came up with multiple ways to “woo me”. Her words, not mine. Anyways there was coffee and flowers-- she even got Tillman to replace my broken windshield.”

In all honesty, that act had truly touched her. Tillman had a fiery hatred for her after she separated him from his children. Emma not only noticed that her windshield needed replacing but knew that the upkeep of her precious Mercedes was important to her. Tillman had refused to replace her windshield, she even offered to pay triple of what it would normally cost, but the man would not budge. Yet somehow the blonde had gotten the man who refused to do anything for the Mayor, to replace her windshield and actually do a quality job. Kathryn looked at Regina’s face in awe as her boss’s face completely lit up as she thought of the blond, the woman truly was her White Knight. The smile quickly and utterly vanished as Regina realized that she had to continue on with the story, getting to the horrible part. 

“I came home to find her in my house making me dinner as a surprise. She admitted that she…” Talking about the situation made her feel all too vulnerable. She hated showing emotion in front of anyone, but Kathryn had been insistent.

She wiped the tear that fell from her eye and continued on. “She told me she loved me. And I, well I told her she was deluded. That she didn’t know what love was because no one had ever loved her.”

That was one of the lowest blows that she could have possibly dealt. It hurt her to say it, she couldn’t imagine how it hurt Emma to hear it. She knew she went way too far with that one, but once she said it there was no taking it back. The fact that Emma grew up the way she did was party Regina’s fault. So to throw that in the younger woman’s face like that, it was one of the biggest things she regretted in her life.

She closed her eyes and just let the last part come out. “Ever since then every time I have seen her it has ended in confrontation. I have been so desperate to see her, I ended up harassing her every time when I really just wanted to apologize.”

She couldn’t let out anymore. It wasn’t like Kathryn needed the specifics of what she said. Her heart was breaking thinking of all the pain she caused Emma. Her how fear and stupidity caused her to push away the best thing in her life besides Henry. No one could ever compare to Emma, and she couldn’t live without the blonde in her life. Yet she pushed her away, like the coward she was.

The two just stared at each other. Regina refused to let out any more of the details, while Kathryn just stared at her in shock. She couldn’t believe how cruel her friend had been.

Yet eventually Kathryn did speak up. “You do realize what a complete mess of things you have made, correct?”

“Of course I know this. What did you just want to rub salt in the wound?”

“Regina, I am helping. You need to realize that you screwed up, like bigtime--”  


“You think that I don’t know that?” Regina flew her arms up in the air in frustration. _Every time I close my eyes and see Emma’s heartbroken face, I am reminded just how badly I messed up_. Of course, she messed up. She knew that from the second that those horrible words flew from her mouth and pierced Emma’s heart. She didn’t need one of her only friends shoving this in her face.

“Quiet! Let me finish. I am telling you that you messed up horribly. You went about this situation in every wrong possible way. I am telling you this so that you can understand and you can fix it. Regina, why did you become the Evil Queen?”

“You know I don’t like talking about that. Are you just trying to focus on everything bad about me?”  


“Answer the question”

“I was in a dark place and Rumple manipulated me” Regina answered as succinctly as possible. She didn’t want to relive all of the horrors of her past.

“What led you to this dark place?”  
  
“You better tread carefully Kathryn, this better have a point.”  


“It does now answer the question Mills”

“I lost Daniel, I lost my true love.”

“So losing your true love made you become the Evil Queen. So everything you did after Daniel was in the name of love, was it not?”

“Well, technically yes.”

“So now you have a woman that is completely head over heels in love with you. The mother of your child no less. The woman that you have sacrificed so much for and vice versa, went to you and proclaimed her love for you. You not only denied that you were in love with her, which let's be honest was complete crap. I know you love her. I know you love her more than you have loved anyone besides Henry of course. You not only denied loving her, but you used her love for you as a weapon against her. Is that all correct?”

Regina felt as though she could take no more. Knowing that she did all of those things was one thing. But having them laid out to her to like that, well it was unbearable. She was able to make it seem less severe in her mind. But Kathryn laid out the hard truth in front of her and she didn’t like what she saw at all. 

“You had Cora and Snow White to blame for taking away your first love. But you have no one but yourself to blame this time Regina. We both know you have been completely awful to Emma. You treated her like you hated her and not at all like you love her.”

Kathryn shivered at the heartbreaking sob that her friend released. She watched the seemingly cold and strong woman in front of her breakdown. Regina was sobbing. She had wrapped her arms around herself in a pathetic attempt of comfort.

The blonde quickly made her way to her friend and engulfed her in a hug. She didn’t care that Regina wasn’t a huge fan of people invading her personal space. Her friend needed comfort right now and that is what she was going to get.

“Regina I didn’t tell you all of this to make you feel bad. I needed you to see how badly you messed up so that you could work to fix this. You can’t keep going on like this. It isn’t fair to Henry, to you, and especially isn’t fair to Emma. Think about how much you are hurting right now, just imagine how much pain she has been in these past couple of weeks. You screwed up. But it can be fixed. It is going to take a ton of work on your part, but the truth is that it is possible. You need to take the first step.”

“You really think that I can get Emma back?”

“Honestly? No” It cold hard truth and Regina needed to hear it. “I think that if you beg and you grovel then you might be lucky enough to be friends again. You lost your chance. She isn’t going to want you now. I’m your friend but even if she wanted to pursue a relationship with you somehow right now, I would go to her and convince her otherwise.”

Regina knew everything that Kathryn was saying was right. It hurt like hell, but it was all true. She lost her chance at love with Emma because of her own actions. But maybe, just maybe she could salvage the most important relationship in her life. She would be lucky for friendship at this point, and she would be extremely grateful to have it.

“The only thing that can heal the things between you two right now is time. You need to find out how you are going to apologize, and you need to make it good. Then I need you to work on yourself. Regina this destructive behavior is not okay, it's toxic. It destroyed your relationship with Emma. Work on making yourself worthy of someone like Emma. But right now, I’m not encouraging you to go after her romantically. Because I love you Regina, but Emma deserves someone better than you right now.”

Regina couldn’t help but agree. She had been trying to avoid the truth, but now that it was in front of her she couldn’t avoid it. She didn’t deserve Emma. Yet she would be damned if she didn’t try to regain her friendship. She was done with excuses. The pushing Emma away to keep her safe, it was a load of crap. It was nothing but a flimsy excuse. She couldn’t hurt Emma to keep herself from getting hurt. She wasn’t that type of person anymore. She looked Kathryn straight in the eye and told her, “If I’m going to try to regain her friendship, I’m going to need your help.”


	6. NOT A CHAPTER

Sorry, this isn't an actual update. I know I confused some of you guys so I just want to clarify. I accidentally posted an update for my other story, Feel Like Home, onto this story. Someone thankfully pointed it out to me. So if you read it before I took it down, just disregard that. I will be updating this story soon though!


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma talks about the spell to Henry.

“Hey Hen? Can you come down here for a moment?” Emma called from downstairs. The Charmings had moved into a larger home as the loft got a bit too crowded, leaving Emma and Henry with the space for themselves. It still wasn’t a permanent solution, as Henry was growing older and would both need and want more privacy than what the loft provided. Though he was a floor above his mother, the fact that there were no walls separating the two greatly diminished the privacy that they both had. She could call him from downstairs without having to raise her voice too much, which in itself explained why they needed a new place.

Henry was all too relieved to that a break from his math homework. It really was never his subject, unlike English which came naturally to him. He supposed that it might have to do with him being the Author and all. As he jumped down the last few steps, a habit that Emma had been working so hard to quell, he asked his mother what she needed him for. 

Emma’s response was to reach out and grab both of Henry’s hands and lead him to the couch. “Sit,” she told him while pushing him backwards so he sat down anyways. “I need to talk to you about something. Before I go into specifics that my mind is not made and if you don’t like it then that will be that, okay?”   
  


“No!” Henry quickly rose to his feet. He had picked up on the conflict between his two mothers. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew that his adoptive mother had gone back to treating his biological mother like an enemy. He feared that this would happen. “I’m sorry that she has been acting like this but you can’t leave. I need you!”

“Henry, hen! Calm down. I’m not leaving, well at least not for good. I just need to get away for a bit. I’m going to ignore that last part though. This is about me and nothing else. I just need some time away. What I was going to say is that Ruby told me about a spell that she found. It would transport me to another world, but I could easily come back. I can’t go out into the ‘real’ world, well, because I’m needed here. It would be faster to come back from the spell than it would if I went somewhere outside of Storybrooke.”

Henry thought it over, and he really couldn’t find a reason to be upset over it. Sure he would miss his mom, but he knew that she needed the time away. He thought about how she might not be able to come from the spell but quickly diminished the thought. His mother would never do magic like that without knowing quite a bit about it. If she said it was safe and what she wanted, he saw no reason to object to it. Some time away now, might solve her problems and keep her from wanting to leave Storybrooke altogether.

“I think it's great. I only wish I could go with you! Can’t you just see it now? A mother and son adventure in an unknown world. That would be so cool! Are you sure you can’t wait until my Spring Break to cast it? That way I could go with you!” Henry batted his eyelashes and give his mother his best puppy dog face. He was growing older so some of that cuteness and effectiveness went away, but he knew that both of his mothers would always be suckers when it came to him.

“Kid, think about it. I want to try this spell to go to another world, keep in mind a spell I haven’t tried before. Now add in bringing you in the mix. Not even you could get your mother to agree to that.”

Henry shrugged his shoulders and agreed with his mother. Regina would never allow Henry to leave without her, let alone leave to another world. 

“Besides, I need to take this trip alone. Tell you what, if all goes well then maybe, just maybe we can convince your mom to use that spell with us later on. What do you say?”

“Of course mom! Now tell me more about your plan.”

=====================================================================

“Alright Rubes, I talked to Henry and he is okay with it. I guess we are really doing this.”

“Yay! I knew that this would work Emma. This will be so good. You will see whatever the spell thinks you need to see and you will be able to get away from She-who-shall-not-be-named!”

“Ruby, its Regina, not Voldermort. But I am seriously ready to leave Storybrooke for a while. See this is why you don’t get to know people. I used to be unattached. I was a free spirit.” Emma jokingly mocked. She may have been free in the past to go wherever she wanted, but that was only because no one would have missed her before if she left. 

Ruby only rolled her eyes at her friend. “Don’t even. You know you miss us too much. Plus you love me too much to stay away.” Ruby winked at her friend. 

“You’re right. You are just so irresistible Ruby!” Emma went over to give her friend a hug. While they were only kidding around with their flirting, Emma really did want to convey her gratitude. She couldn’t believe her friend went through all that trouble just to help her. She decided that when she got back she would have to do something special to make it up to Ruby. 

“Put that charm away Swan. Now tell me what the plan is!” She knew her friend was making a plan so that she could leave with the spell. But she completely withheld any information until she talked it over with Henry. Now that he agreed, she was dying to know how all of her hard work would be put into fruition. 

“Okay, so I’m going to use my vacation time that has been just been accumulating. I haven’t used any of it, so I might as well put it to good use. I’m going to call my parents and tell that I am renting Gold’s cabin in the woods for some alone time. I am going to completely ‘unplug’ so no one will be able to contact me after that call.”   
  


“Smart way to get around phone calls and texts. But are you forgetting about Snow? If you tell her to stay away she will show up at the cabin anyways. She’ll know that you aren’t there.”

Emma smiled at Ruby’s question. “Ah my friend, you have picked up on how nosey my mother can be. I will simply put a cloaking spell on the cabin. So even if she went up there trying to find me, she wouldn’t be able to. Eventually, she will ask you why she can’t find the cabin, which you will tell her about the spell I enacted to ensure my privacy. Tell her I want complete isolation or something.”

“Swan. How about just telling her about the spell?”

Emma couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her friend. “Really Rubes. Do you think if I tell Snow about this spell, she would take it well? She would want to know why I feel like I need to get away, plus she would freak out over my safety. A. I don’t want to talk to her about my feelings. And B. I don’t need her freaking out over nothing. We both know that it is safe. I’ll tell her about it after I’m home safe.”

“True, but when will you know when to come back? Time might move differently in your spell world.”

Emma put her hand over her chest dramatically wincing as if she were in pain. “Oh, my friend how you wound me with your doubts. Next month is Henry’s Spring Break. He will say that he is going to visit me and no one would question it because I never give up an opportunity to see him. The cloaking spell will allow him in, and he will use the instructions I gave him to call me back to Storybrooke.”

She didn’t go into specifics because as Ruby researched the spell, she already knew how it worked. She talked with Henry about how to bring her back, but she also wrote up simple instructions that he could follow. She would enact the spell at the cabin, and he would bring her back to Storybrooke at the cabin, so that much was actually true. 

Calling her back to Storybrooke was actually pretty simple. All Henry would have to do is say her name and drop a potion onto the ground. Ruby had Blue make the potion, so that part was done. The nice part about the spell was that it came with a backup plan. In case something were to happen to the potion or she wanted to come back early, all she had to do was say the spell again and drop a bit of blood onto the ground. She decided that because there was no way to know how time passed in this other world compared to time in Storybrooke, she would wait for Henry to call her back. That way she could be sure that she was only gone for a month. 

“Well color me surprised. You actually did your homework for once. It all sounds good Swan. Now hurry up and leave so you can come back. I miss you already.”

Emma didn’t admit it, but she knew that she would miss Ruby. Her friend was such a dork, she needed her in her life. If not for her theatrics, where would she get her entertainment? Ruby came with more drama than a Mexican novella. Albeit it was happy and entertaining dramatics, but the comparison was still accurate. 

Emma walked over to her friend and gave her a large squeeze. She wasn’t normally the touchy-feely type, but she couldn’t get over how much Ruby had done for her. First, she found her this spell, and now she was going to help cover for her. Both with her parents and at the office. “I seriously can’t thank you enough for all of this.”   
  


Ruby just sighed at her friend, she really had enough with all of her thank-yous. She was doing this because she was her friend, she didn’t need to be thanked. “Just get out of here Swan. I know you are already ‘packed’ now just go to the cabin and do the spell. The sooner you are gone..”

Emma walking backwards out of the station. She looked at her friend one last time before she turned around to really leave. She smiled and answered, “the sooner I get back.” She exited the station and got into her bug. As Emma drove into the woods she couldn’t help but feel a mixture of excitement and of nervousness. She wasn’t sure what the spell would show her, but she was excited to find out. Maybe time away would really help her heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here is a shorter chapter, but at least I posted! Think of it as a sorry to those who thought my last post was an actual update. I promise that my chapters will be longer, this was just an exception!
> 
> I wanted to update now for two reasons:
> 
> I am meeting Lana next week!! I am super excited about that. But that means a couple of no writing days. 
> 
> I need/want your ideas of where the spell should take Emma. I already said that it was going to show her what she needed to say. I've decided I don't want to do what I originally had planned, and I can't quite decide what I want the spell to do. Comment/message me your suggestions, please! The faster I decide what I want the spell to do, the faster that I get the next chapter out!


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse of the other world

IN ANOTHER WORLD…

Regina stood in the doorway looking at the frantic blonde mess in front of her. Currently, there was one Emma Swan running around their bedroom trying to pack for their trip. She had reminded the blonde multiple times to pack beforehand, but the blonde kept putting it off..until now-minutes before they were expected to depart. 

Regina shook her head quite amused with the blonde’s antics. The woman was quite the powerful sorceress, her power exceeded even Regina’s -not that she would ever admit that fact to her. Yet the blonde seemed to often forget that she even had magic. Magic was not her first instinct, as her floundering to pack was clear evidence of this. 

Regina simply waved her hand to quickly and neatly pack the blonde’s trunk for her. Emma quirked her head when her clothing started flying, but as soon as she saw the purple haze that guided the clothing she knew it was Regina’s doing. 

Emma walked up to Regina and pulled her into a deep kiss. “Thank you my Queen” she whispered into her ear in between peppering her with kisses. 

“You have such powerful magic, yet you forget to use it. We couldn’t sit around and wait for you all day to finish packing. I was just speeding up the process.” Regina closed her eyes in complete bliss engulfed in Emma’s arms. She belonged in Emma’s arms, she couldn’t think of a place that she belonged in more. 

Emma slightly pulled back from the hug so she could make eye contact with the brunette. “I would hate to keep you waiting my Queen”

Regina raised her eyebrow at her wife’s response. “We both know that it is not me that you should keep waiting. Someone in the next room has grown quite impatient with you.”

Emma raised a hand to heart dramatically, “how could I ever keep the princess waiting?” She grabbed Regina’s hand and led her to the bedroom next door. Before entering she faced her wife and exclaimed, “we both know that we may be Queens, but the Princess holds the real power in this castle.”

Both women chuckled as they thought of the young girl that they equally adored. Their love for each other was vast but in comparison to their love for their daughter? Well, it was like a drop in the ocean. 

Before opening the door Emma turned to examine her wife yet again. “Are you sure that you are okay? We can still postpone this.” 

Regina couldn’t help but roll her eyes slightly. Emma had always been protective of her. It was no longer as extreme as it was when she was pregnant with their daughter, but still protective nonetheless. She smiled as she thought about how caring her wife was. She pretended to be exasperated with her when she was being overly protective, but she secretly adored it. It showed how much she cared.

Regina tucked a strand of hair behind Emma’s ear. The woman always had her hair styled in elaborate braids, yet it seemed that her hair could never be tamed. Both Emma and her hair could be styled and coerced to be refined, but the free-hearted blonde always broke free from expectations. “My love, I told you yesterday and I will tell you again. I am still sick, but I am feeling much better. We will be in a carriage all day, so I will be resting regardless. We both know how excited our daughter is for this trip. I for one will not be the reason that we delay it.”

Emma thought this over and while she still preferred that they delayed the trip, she knew that this was not a battle she would win. She could hardly say no to the brunette in front of her. The brunette’s pleading eyes in addition to the large chestnut eyes of their daughter? Well, Emma wouldn’t stand any chance saying no to her favorite people in the world. Accepting defeat she opened the door to their daughter’s room so that they can begin their travels. 

When the young brunette saw her bedroom door open to reveal both of her mothers she couldn’t contain her excitement. She ran up and hugged her Momma. She faced her Mommy and gave her a stern glare. The face was still not as good as her Momma’s, but she got lots of practice. Every time that her Momma gave her Mommy ‘the face’ she mimicked it trying to perfect it herself. 

She pointed a finger at her Mommy and chastised her, “you are late Mommy! You were supposed to be packed so we could leave on time!”

Emma looked down at her daughter and then up at her wife. Again she glanced at her daughter, and then again at her wife. It was scary how similar the two were. She bent down to pick up the young princess and held her against her hip. “I am sorry my love you are right. But your Momma helped me and now we are ready to leave. Are you excited?”

“YES!”

Both women slightly recoiled as their daughter shouted her enthusiasm right into their ears. When the young brunette was excited, there really was nothing anyone could do to reel in some of that enthusiasm. 

Regina held onto Emma’s hand as she led the family out of the castle and towards the royal carriage that awaited them. “My love, this is your first Festival of the Trees, are you excited?”

“Yes! I can’t wait to see the leaves turn. I want to be part of the celebrations! Plus afterwards we get to see aunt Mally!”

Emma ushered her two brunettes into the carriage. She gave a look towards the driver to signal that they were ready to depart. She gave her daughter a smile and told her, “well, we best be going then. The faster we leave, the faster we get there!”

The young brunette looked towards her mothers and thought about how excited she was. It was the first time that all three of them would be outside of the castle together. She was a bit disappointed that her grandparents couldn’t join them on their journey, but someone had to stay behind and rule the castle and kingdom. She would miss the former King and Queen, but the excitement she held about spending the week with both of her mothers far overpassed this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter, but I wanted to update to let you all know that I am still here. This last weekend was extremely hectic, but it was amazing. I went to my first comic con, and I met Lana! Both she and Bex are super sweet and hilarious. Anyways I am catching up on all of the things I should have done last weekend. I will be writing more, it just might take some time.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Royal Family's journey gets interrupted.

“Must we stop?”

  
  
“Relax my darling, we are only taking a short break. We must eat something, and we have to give our dear horses a break as well.”

“I’m not hungry!”

“That sound of your stomach says otherwise my dear heart. Besides our horses have been working so hard to transport us, don’t you think that they deserve a break? Perhaps you can give them a sugar cube for their hard work?”

“Yes! Can I please?”

“Anything for you my dear. You may tend to the horses after we have fed you first little one.”

“I am going to ensure that our soldiers are positioned correctly. The guards have been quite lacking lately, I must get new captains…” Emma trailed off as she muttered to herself about the guards. As Queen, it wasn’t her job to ensure that the guards were where they were supposed to be, but Emma nonetheless insisted that she be in charge of her family’s safety. She had Captains that she could call on to guide her men, but in the end, there was no one she trusted more to guard her family than herself. She walked off deeper into the woods when she turned to her family. “I shall return shortly. I just need to check on the guards.”

Regina shook her head amused with her wife. The other woman was more of Knight than she was a Queen. Yet she wasn’t bothered by this. She loved how protective her wife was of their family. “Hurry back my dear, we both know how you get when you are hungry.”

Emma was about to leave the small clearing and enter the woods before she had a change of heart. She ran up to her two favorite girls and kissed them both. Now satisfied, she went off to complete her task. The food Regina was setting out was making her mouth water. She wanted to be back as soon as possible. 

Emma approached her men as they were seemed to be confused as to where they should be stationed. Emma shook her head in disapproval at the sight.  _ I must get new Captains to lead these soldiers. Useless, they are useless.  _ “Why aren’t you at your stations? This is my family that you are leaving vulnerable. What good are you to them huddled in a corner?”

Many of the soldiers bowed their heads in shame at letting their Queen down. What they lacked in proper training and skill, they had immense loyalty and love for the Royal family to make up for it. They were about to spread out and man their proper stations, but they were stopped before they could. It had begun. Soldiers began dropping to the ground one by one. 

Had the guards been better trained they would have known to look for dangers that hid behind the thick foliage of the forest. There was no danger on the ground, but they forgot to seek out any dangers that lurked in the trees. 

When Emma saw her soldiers falling to the ground her first instinct was to get to her family. Her wife often called her a knight for how she liked to train with her men and lead them. Yet the difference between her and a true knight was clear. A true knight would stand with their men and fight off the attackers. But Emma’s only priority right now was her family. She shook her head at the sight of her fallen soldiers, but her priorities lay elsewhere. 

She sprinted through the forest, her adrenaline keeping her from tripping on the uneven ground. Her grace left much to be desired, yet when she believed her family to be in danger, there was nothing that could stop her. When she reached the clearing where she left her family her heart dropped at the sight.

_ No,  _ was all she could think. She could not let this happen. She would rather die than let the scene in front of her play out. 

She ran up to her wife and child and shoved them to the ground. She had no time to explain her actions because she stood directly between a knife and her family. She was able to stop the impending attack, yet there was still the attacker she needed to fight off, plus whoever was lurking in the trees and had taken down her men. 

Emma grabbed the sword from her side and started attacking the hooded assailant. She didn’t like their odds, they were outnumbered now that her men were gone. The only thing she could think of was the importance of her family. 

Regina stood in horror as she watched her wife attack the hooded figure. She wished that there was anything that she could do to help. She called to her magic but nothing came. She was recovering from a sickness so her magic wasn’t cooperating with her. Her adrenaline was just running too high to try to get a sound mind to will her magic forward.

What was so tragic was that even though Regina’s magic wasn’t working right now, the blonde had full access to her powerful magic. She could easily kill this attacker and anyone else with a swish of hand. Yet magic was never Emma’s first instinct. 

With every clash of metal, her heart stopped for a second. She couldn’t let Emma die, but she felt so useless right now. She needed to protect their daughter. Emma would never forgive her if Regina chose to help her instead of their daughter. She stood watching the scene in front of her as if it were some horror movie. Nothing but fear seeped through her veins. She vaguely heard Emma cry out to her for them to flee, but her legs were rooted to the ground. 

It took some serious tugging on her arm for Regina to snap out of her daze. She looked down at her daughter’s wide eyes and her tear-streaked face and understood what she needed to do. It killed her to leave Emma behind, but they both knew that they cared more about their daughter’s safety than of their own. A true parent would gladly sacrifice themselves to ensure their child’s safety. 

With every swing that Emma took, she understood what she was doing. She was sacrificing herself for her family. She couldn’t win this, not when she was outnumbered. She just hoped she was able to buy some time for her family to flee. 

Everything had stopped for a moment. Emma was valiantly fighting the hooded figure that dared to threaten her family. But then she wasn’t. It was only a half a second that she looked away, but to her, it seemed like time had stopped. She turned her head and smiled when she saw that her wife and child had finally listened, as they were nowhere to be found. When she went to face her attacker again she was welcomed to a sight of a smug smile. 

She looked down in time to see a blade being removed from her side. The metal was painted crimson blood with blood. This wasn’t a new sight for the woman, as she had often trained with soldiers and watched them in battle. Yet this was different. This was her blood. This time it was her who was falling. 

She stumbled backward and grasped at her side. The wound was too deep. She could feel it. With nothing but her family’s safety in mind she ran forward and plunged her sword right into the attacker’s heart. They didn’t expect her to move so quickly after having been so badly injured. Yet there was nothing that could stop a woman set on protecting her family, even if it came at the expense of her own life.

When the confrontation was over two bodies lied in a sea of crimson. The blood of the royal could not be deciphered between the blood of the attacker. Both lay with eyes wide open. One had accomplished their goal while the other had failed. 

The figure lurking in the trees waited until the confrontation was over to drop down to level ground. They purposely waited until their partner killed the Queen, or the Queen killed his partner. As he looked at the sight that lay before him he couldn’t help but smile. Both of his problems had taken care of themselves. 

Now all that was left to do was to find the other Queen and their brat of a daughter. This way he could have the ransom money all to himself, no need to share with anyone but himself. It was cruel the way that he turned his back on his partner, but she should have known better than to trust a criminal even if she was one herself. 

He had seen the Queen’s pathetic attempt at magic. He knew that without it, she was powerless. So he slowly made his way off to where the two girls had fled. He felt his blood rushing through his veins, this was a thrill for him. For he was a predator about to find his prey. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regina dragged her daughter through the woods. She couldn’t take a moment to spare, she had to find safety for herself and her daughter, or else Emma’s actions...She couldn’t let her wife’s death be in vain. Regina hadn’t stuck around long enough to confirm her suspicions, but  _ she knew.  _ She could feel it in her gut. It was as if a part of her had died. Though that wasn’t far from the truth, the blonde had been her True Love, the young brunette holding her hand was evidence of that. She wouldn’t let her heart break just yet. Once her daughter was safe and sound then, and only then would she allow herself to grieve her lost love. She couldn’t afford to think of Emma right now, only their daughter. 

Regina realized that her daughter’s pace kept on slowing. Her little legs couldn’t carry her for much further. It would be useless to try to outrun their attacker. Even if she carried her daughter on her back and continued to run, their pace would still be too slow, she was still recovering from a sickness after all. The only choice left was to hide.

Once she found a suitable shaded area she stopped running and turned to her daughter. “Sweetie we have to hide now. We are going to crawl into that big bush over there and I need you to be very quiet for Momma okay? We can’t make a sound.”

Large mocha eyes looked up at her mother. Regina’s heart broke at the sight. She couldn’t believe that she had put her daughter in this danger. Surely she couldn’t have imagined they would be ambushed, but if she couldn’t protect her daughter, what good was she? The young girl had no words, perhaps she was already following her mother’s instructions. She nodded her head and crawled into the bush her mother had motioned towards.

Regina followed her daughter after ensuring that her daughter was fully camouflaged. She held her in her arms trying to reassure her of their safety. With every breath that they took, it felt like they had been hiding for hours. Regina had been stuck in the squatted position for so long that she had lost feeling in her legs. She hoped that the attacker would not find them, as she no longer had the ability to run if she needed to. Everything in the forest was completely silent. It was as though the birds had heard Regina’s instructions and decided to follow them as well. The silent exhales of the two brunettes was the only sound that could be heard. Yet in Regina’s frightened state, the sound of their breathing was like an alarm calling the attacker straight to their location. She was so focused on their breathing that it became the only noise she noticed.

Until she heard a twig snap. 

He was here.

Apparently he had quite the tracking skills. She didn’t have time to try to cover her tracks as she fled with her daughter, but she didn’t make it easy for him either. She knew better than to run in a straight line. She had only hoped that her erratic pattern would have thrown him off. It seemed like she had no luck today. 

She knew that he would soon see that the tracks had stopped. He would figure out that they had taken cover upon the thick foliage. He would find them. She couldn’t let that happen.

She called towards her magic again, this time begging it to appear. She would have felt a small sense of relief when she felt the warmth of the fireball in hand, had it not been for the current situation she found herself in. This was the difference between life and death, there was no time for any sort of relief until her daughter was safe. She pulled all of her remaining strength into throwing the fireball at the man.

She missed. Her magic was barely working and she had missed. Instead of seeing the charred remains of the attacker, she simply set a tree ablaze. There was no time for the devastation to sink into her bones. He now knew exactly where they were. 

The Queen had no choice but to follow through with plan B. Luckily her wife demanded of her that she keep some sort of protection upon her person. She always thought it was ludicrous, as she had magic, she  _ was _ a weapon. Yet she carried a small knife with her at all times to placate Emma. It would seem like her wife had saved their lives yet again.

Running on adrenaline alone she rushed to attack the man. She could not fail, it was not an option. If she were to die, her daughter would be left at the mercy of the man in front of her and that was not going to happen. 

She charged at him and she plunged the knife right into his chest. The only problem was that at the same time he had stabbed her in the back. She cried out in pain as she felt the knife enter and leave her back.

His wound was fatal, it was clear as he bled out on the forest floor. Her wound was bad, but not fatally so, at least if she got help soon.

She turned to were her daughter remained and called out to her, “come on out, honey.”

“Momma!” The young brunette went running out of her hiding position and wrapped her arms around her mother. Her tears were frantic as she had watched the man wound her mother. 

Regina tore a piece off of her dress. She crouched down and realized that she would not be able to do this by herself. So she turned to her daughter. “Alexandria, I need you to do something for Momma okay? I need you to grab this piece of cloth and tie it around my back. You have to make it really tight okay? Just over the wound.” 

The child did the best that she could. She obviously didn’t have any experience in this type of situation. She had just watched her mother get stabbed, she could hardly act. Let alone that she could hardly reach to tie the knot, but she somewhat accomplished her goal.

Regina smiled down at her daughter. “You did so well my love. Come on, we need to go find some help.” Regina knew that the wound on her back was going to become a problem. Her daughter wasn’t able to apply enough pressure on the wound and it wasn’t like she was able to do it herself. She needed to find help and fast. She at least needed to get Alexandria somewhere safe before she bled out. She didn’t care so much for her own safety as she did for her daughter’s.

They made their way through the forest though they did not encounter another human. There was no sign of an upcoming village or path anywhere in sight. At Regina’s attempts to throw off the attacker she had ran away from the road and deeper into the forest. It seemed like they were nowhere near the path now. She didn’t let this deter her as she kept on marching on. She was going to bring her daughter to safety. She had to. She owed it to Emma and Alexandria that much.

It had felt like they were walking for hours, but she couldn’t be sure of how much time had actually passed. With all that walking they were still nowhere close to finding safety. With every step that Regina took she lost more of her blood and her strength. With no village in sight, every step was a step closer to death than safety. 

Regina’ stumbled back away from her daughter. She knew what was coming. She was lightheaded and her legs felt as if they carried the weight of the world on top of them. She fell backwards. Brown eyes took in the blue sky and she felt a wave of relaxation hit her. Perhaps she could close her eyes for a moment. The clouds slowly moved and it felt as though she was being rocked to sleep.

“Momma!” Hearing her daughter’s cries she regained some consciousness. Alexandria had to go on without her. It was the only way.

“Alexandria my love. I need you to be strong for Momma. I need you to keep on walking and don’t stop until you find the nearest village.” She had to pause for a minute as every word spoke took some of the last remaining strength that she had. “Find a guard or a soldier, they will take care of you once they see who you are. Go on my child. I love you.”

It pained her to leave her daughter but she knew that this was it. She felt guilty that she felt a wave of relief at the thought. Emma. She wouldn’t have to live without her sweet Emma. The young girl in front of her needed her, but there was nothing she could do. She had lost too much blood. There was nothing left to do. 

“Momma No!” Alexandria screamed for her mother to get up. She screamed at her to stay with her. She laid down on the ground refusing to leave her mother. She couldn’t. She wouldn't.

With thoughts of Emma and Alexandria on her mind, the Queen took one last breath and closed her eyes. The world would never again get the gift of seeing those glimmering mocha eyes. 

Alexandria could do nothing but weep on top of her mother. The child was still too young to act without her parents guiding her. Her mother told her to continue on, but she couldn’t. She was just too young and too frightened. So the child did the only thing she could think to do. She crawled into her mother’s side and she wept. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, where did that come from? I have no idea. 
> 
> Anyways...next chapter we get to see Storybrooke Emma again.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma lands into this new world...

“Well, I guess here goes nothing..” Emma drank the potion she prepared earlier and recited the spell. Within a second of finishing the spell the floor in the cabin had been swallowed up by a portal. She really had nothing to lose. She closed her eyes and prepared to jump. “I hope this works” and everything went dark.

Emma found herself being thrown onto the floor. Apparently portals don’t place the occupant nicely down on the floor. “Crap!” Emma started dusting herself off.  _ Regina wouldn’t have fallen like this. She would have landed with the grace and poise of a Queen.  _ When she realized her train of thought she stopped herself.  _ No Swan! No Regina. This is a Regina-clense _ .

Standing up Emma allowed herself to take a look at her surroundings.  _ This is it? Seriously? The middle of the woods?  _ She kept spinning in circles trying to find any signs of humanity. It would make no use to stay in the woods. Whatever was waiting for her was out there somewhere. She was ready for her life-changing lesson, now if only she could find it.

Hours. She walked for hours- at least that is how it felt to the blonde. She paused when she saw a peculiar looking flower by the trail she was following. “Huh, you are an odd looking one aren’t you?”  _ Talking to a plant Swan…talking to a plant.. _

Absentmindedly she kept twirling the flower in between her fingers as she continued walking on. There was something about the flower. She couldn’t place it. The way that the top of the flower was like a little white full ball, almost as if it were a snowball. Snowball? She stared at the flower some more. Her mind was trying to connect the dots but it just wasn’t happening. Snowballs…snow..balls…snow..b-

“Oh Hell no!” She threw the flower on the ground and stomped on it for good measure. “This? Seriously? Is this some kind of joke?”

She looked forward and there was a large patch of flowers in front of her. They were mocking her.  _ Damn those Snowbells.  _ “Out of all of the places! Out of the places in the world! Not just my world but all of them! The Enchanted Forrest. The Enchanted freaking Forrest.”

No, there was no way she was staying. Staying would be idiotic! She has been here and done that, and Emma had no desire to relive her past experiences. Almost dying from the hands of an ogre wasn’t one of her fondest memories. Let alone having Cora reach inside her chest trying to crush her heart. Obviously she wasn’t here anymore but still, the memory of it sent chills down her back. She very much liked having her heart in her chest, thank you very much. 

She searched the ground for a sharp rock or a stick. Something that she could cut herself with. All she had to do was recite the spell again and drop a bit of her blood on the ground. She would be stuck in Storybrooke with Regina again, but at least it was better than  _ here. _

Her search for a sharp object ended up fruitless. Emma shook her head. Honestly, what was she expecting? The spell obviously didn’t want her to leave so soon. The least she could do was to continue walking and try to find whatever she needed to see. She wasn’t thrilled about being here, but at least it was still away from Storybrooke. She wanted to go back now, but she knew she shouldn’t-she couldn’t. Honestly, what did she have to lose? 

Her trek through the woods was a pretty straightforward one. There didn’t seem to be any signs of danger - the only problem is that there weren’t any signs of life either. It became quite obvious to her that the spell was leading her in this direction for some reason. No one was bothering her, she wasn’t chasing anything, she just had to keep walking until she walked into some profound life-altering lesson. 

As Emma heard the loud rumbling that emanated from her stomach, she realized just how hungry she was. If this life lesson wasn’t going to show itself soon, would it be so much to ask for a Burger King to appear in front of her? What she wouldn’t do for some fries right about now. Sure she passed countless amounts of berries on her trek, but she wasn’t taking any risks.  _ Maybe I should have listened to Snow a bit more when we were here last time.  _ Yet she really couldn’t blame herself, it is hard to pay attention to a lecture on berries a little after almost  _ dying  _ at the hands of an ogre! 

She shook her head.  _ What is my life?  _ She loves her family- she absolutely loves them. But she had to admit that her life grew extremely complicated after Henry came and found her. She doesn’t regret staying in Storybrooke at all, it's just some time this is all too much. She is the only outsider in their town. Everyone else grew up with all of this. This is their normal- not hers. She couldn’t even relate to Henry with this because his childlike innocence made everything out to be as amazing instead of terrifying and confusing. I mean who else has to slay dragons, defeat ogres, break sleeping curses, and fight off the advances of men who are  _ clearly  _ hundreds of years older than her? How is that even okay? To top it all of she went ahead and fell in love with possibly the most unavailable woman there is.

All of the thoughts rambling in her head came to a complete and utter stop when she looked up off from the ground. There lay in front of her, was a child crying on top of an adult. There was something about the woman that seemed familiar to her. She couldn’t place it. Something about those brunette locks that called out to her. And the child. She felt the overwhelming urge to go the child and help her. Why wasn’t the woman comforting the young girl? She was crying on top of her for crying out loud.

Emma took slow and hesitant steps as she approached the child. She  _ needed  _ to comfort her, she just didn’t know how. She had no idea how the child would react to seeing a complete stranger out in the middle of the woods. A stranger who had on odd clothing that clearly did not belong to this realm. Great. But she had to help, her heart screamed at her to go soothe the child. She had to do something.

When she was only a few steps away from the child she cleared her throat as to make the young girl aware of her presence. Emma’s actions mirrored those of someone in front of a wild animal. Slow and cautious as if scared to set off the animal or in this case the young girl. The child seemed frightened enough and she clearly didn’t need Emma adding to that. She made herself seem smaller in hopes that if she got the sleeping brunette’s attention she would not see her as a threat. 

“Hello?” At the greeting, the young child stopped her crying and looked at the woman in front of her.  _ It couldn’t be.  _ She wanted to turn to her Momma and tell her the good news. Yet when she looked back she was brutally reminded of the fate of her mother. 

When the child got a good look at her mother, she realized that it really was her. Sure she was in a strange outfit, but it was clearly her. She came back for them. The young girl knew her mother would fight off the attackers and come and find them. Clearly she had returned. The young girl wiped at her eyes with her sleeve and picked herself off of the ground. 

She ran to Emma at full speed. She jumped into the woman’s arms. Emma wasn’t expecting the child to run to her, much less to jump into her arms, but her reflexes caught the young girl. Her years with Henry running unexpectedly into her arms taught her to also be prepared for the unexpected hug. She ran her hand soothingly through the young girl’s hair. It wasn’t until she spoke that Emma froze. “Mommy, you came back for us.”

Emmas' eyes were blown wide as she realized what the child had said. Or rather what the child had called her.  _ Mommy?  _ She didn’t know what to do. How could she? She set the child down in hopes of getting some answers. Yet her heart already seemed to know the answer. The child had called her mommy. Her heart felt as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Hearing this young girl call her mommy was like hearing Henry call her Ma. It was just right. She obviously didn’t know how, but she felt as if this young girl was hers. Her heart belonged to the child. 

She took a step back from the child ready to start asking some questions until she remembered the woman the child was weeping upon. She looked to the woman and realized it wasn’t just any woman. It was Regina.

She knelt down in front of the woman and realized something that made her heart break. The blood in her veins seemed to stop flowing for a second. The woman in front of her was clearly Regina. She thought that seeing a familiar face would help sort all of this out for her. She hoped it would bring clarity upon the sea of confusion she found herself in. Seeing Regina always brought her some sense of calm. Even when they were at each other's throats, she still found comfort in the other woman. She could expect their bickering - it was a soothing constant. Seeing the other woman now only filled her with dread. She had hoped to never see the other woman like this. 

Regina wasn’t sleeping, she was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know it has been forever since I updated. Sorry about that. All of my free time has been spent reading these awesome new SQ stories. Yet I started to miss mine, so here is a shorter update. Perhaps I can better balance my reading/writing time. 
> 
> Ps. I altered the appearance of the Snowbells from the show to suit my writing needs. Plus I didn't really care to go back and find a picture of what the really looked like...
> 
> As always please let me know what you thought. Comments are always appreciated.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma has a conversation with Snow and Charming.

The Charmings turned to thank the hero that brought their granddaughter home. Yet when they looked upon the blonde all of their words vanished from their thoughts. David could not move or process anything as he gazed upon his daughter. His mind could not correlate the two thoughts. His daughter was dead. He saw her body, he carried the body home, and he shoveled dirt upon the casket that housed his daughter’s body. Yet he saw that Emma stood before him looking as alive and healthy as she did before the family had departed for their trip. Albeit she was wearing clothes completely foreign to their realm, but it was his daughter nonetheless. Magic. Magic had something to do with this. Either magic was used to make him believe that his daughter was dead. Or perhaps magic brought his daughter back to life? Dead was supposed to be permanent. Yet when it came to the heroes, death never really followed the rules.

Snow, on the other hand, was completely livid when her eyes laid upon the blonde. This woman clearly deceived their granddaughter, making her believe that her mother was still alive. She came here to deceive them, to make them believe that their daughter was still alive. It was cruel. What kind of monster exploits a grieving family like this? Surely it was for money. What other purpose could this imposter have?

Snow marched straight up to her ‘daughter’ and slapped her right in the face. Young Alexandria instantly started crying seeing her grandmother harm her mother like that. Snow motioned to a young maiden to come forward. “Take Alexandria to her room and wash her up. I shall be there shortly”.

“Grandmother no!” The young girl was taken out of the throne room kicking and screaming. She needed to be by her mother, she just had to be. She already lost one mother, she would not allow another mother to be taken from her as well. To have her own grandmother hurt her mother like that, it was completely unimaginable. Her mother had come and rescued her from the woods. She kept her safe on the journey home. She was strong and brave, why would grandmother hurt her for this?

Emma cupped her cheek with her hand. She couldn’t believe that her mother had slapped her. Technically not her mother, but still it was  _ Snow.  _ She thought that bringing her daughter home would bring her ‘parents’ joy, not this.  _ Her daughter _ .  _ Huh _ . Perhaps Emma should have been more concerned with how quickly she latched onto Alexandria. But she couldn’t help it. Her heart and soul connected with the young girl, she knew that they belonged together. She wasn’t sure exactly where the Emma of this realm was, but she hoped that the other woman would be more open to sharing Alex with her than Regina was with Henry when she first arrived.

David didn’t know what to think at this point. He let Snow take the lead like usual because he couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that Emma was  _ here.  _ He was almost spurred into action ready to push Snow away from his baby girl. They never laid a hand on Emma before and seeing his wife do so now put him on edge. He was so sure that the woman before them was Emma, she was their baby girl. The world wouldn’t be so cruel to taunt them like this, would it?

“Mary-Margret what the hell?” Emma’s anger only grew when she looked at the identical dumbfounded faces of the King and Queen.  _ Oh. Right.  _ “Oh, my bad. Excuse me. I mean  _ Snow,  _ what the hell?”

“How dare you?” Snow had to keep her hand to herself at this point. She was so tempted to slap the insolence out of this imposter. “You are addressing royalty. Just how do you think you are speaking to?”

“Well, I thought I was talking to my parents.” Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. This was getting confusing. “Well you know obviously not  _ my _ parents, but a version of them I guess?” Emma took a moment to wrap her head around this crazy situation. Looking around the throne room she realized that there was one important person that was unaccounted for. “Where is this realm’s Emma by the way?”

Snow’s anger fled from her as she truly looked upon Emma. She knew that this woman was being sincere. She really didn’t know what fate the other Emma had met. But if she wasn’t here to try to exploit the royal family, why was she here?

Emma gulped as she started to consider what her ‘parents’ crestfallen faces could mean. She had seen the horrible fate that Regina had met. She actually tried hard not to think about it. It was all too much. Seeing the woman that she loved dead. It did things to her. It wasn’t  _ her _ Regina, but it was still Regina. She loved every version of the woman and felt a great loss at seeing this version of the woman she loved. She wasn’t sure what had hurt her more. Finding out that Regina was dead in this world, or that she and this Emma were together and had a daughter. These two had everything figured out. Why couldn’t she and Regina figure it out as well? And if they did, did it mean they would face the same fate as their counterparts?

“You really don’t know?” The dumbfounded expression on Emma’s face was all the answer that Snow needed.

Snow burst into tears unable to answer Emma’s question. David went to go hold his wife in his arms. Behind Snow’s shoulder, David mumbled his answer. It was but a whisper, but Emma heard it nonetheless. “She’s dead.” Hearing the declaration out loud Snow’s tears turned into full out sobbing. The only sound in the throne room was the sound of the former queen coming undone.

The sinking feeling she felt in her stomach amplified as she thought about the little girl who had run into her arms earlier. She felt at home with Alexandria. She felt it in her heart that she belonged with Alexandria. How was this little girl going to survive without both of her mothers? How could this young girl go through such heartbreak in her short life? She shook her head thinking about how cruel to the world was. With everything that Regina and Emma went through in their upbringing surely they should have been able to live out their happy ending. Emma wasn’t sure what Queen Emma went through in her life, but she found it hard to believe that there was any Emma that didn’t have a difficult life. She was jealous of the thought that any version of her had an easier life than her.

No one could say which Emma had the worst fate. Queen Emma married her true love, having a beautiful daughter from their union. Yet she didn’t get to live out her happy ending for long as they both met their tragic death. Storybrooke Regina and Emma were aware of their love for the other, yet the couldn’t seem to make it work. They were so close yet so far away to what they wanted.

Emma hesitantly stepped towards the former royals. It hurt her to see her loved ones in pain, even if they technically weren’t her parents, she cared for them just the same. She wanted to hug them and assure them that she was fine, but it wasn’t the same. They needed to mourn their daughter. She just wished that she could comfort them without causing them more pain.

Emma rocked on her heels as she thought about what to do. Her heart ached to go find Alexandria and console her as she had left the room- or rather was dragged out while she was visibly distraught. She felt the need to soothe the girl as if it were her duty. But was it really her duty? Emma needed to find her, but she couldn’t in good conscious leave her parents in this state either. She gently cupped the elbows of both Charmings to get their attention. In the kindest voice possible she asked the couple, “will you tell me what happened?” She didn’t know how to help but she figured having them talk about it would be a start. Archie would be so proud of her if he could see her now. Her intentions were noble, but she couldn’t help if it her request also helped sate her curiosity. She needed to know what happened to Regina. Her heart ached at the thought. She tried getting information from Alex, but the girl was too traumatized to say much of anything. She wanted to know how this could have happened to her and Regina. She trembled at the thought that the love they held for each other wasn’t enough to endure anything. Perhaps they weren’t meant to be. Her brain told her to forget the love she held for Regina. Cleansing herself of the woman is the entire reason she was even here. Yet she couldn’t get her heart to move on, perhaps it was because a brunette still had a hold of it back in Storybrooke. She couldn’t reclaim what was no longer hers.

Snow took a moment to collect herself in her husband’s arms. When she found herself able to talk again without bursting into her tears, she turned to face Emma. Such a simple act was hard. She could barely keep her composure as she looked upon her daughter who wasn’t her daughter.  _ Her  _ Emma was dead, yet another Emma stood in front of her. Did it make her a horrible mother for feeling comfort in this Emma’s presence? She shook her head to clear herself of these thoughts. “Of course, let us gather in parlor and we will tell you everything. That is if you will tell us about how you found Alexandria? As well as why you are here?”

Emma followed the lead to the parlor without a problem. Snow’s question might have came off as rude to anyone else, but she knew her mother. She was just as curious as she. She expected nothing less from her parents to not only get answers but to ensure the safety of their granddaughter. Not that Emma would ever harm her child.  _ NO, not my child. _

“Of course, I will tell you everything I know” she replied before lowering herself onto the rather elegant looking sofa behind her. The parlor was not what she was expecting. The room seemed to be covered in velvet. Everything had a warm glow around it. The red backing on the furniture was surrounded by intricate carvings of fine oak. The essence of the room was tied together by the glow of the fireplace in the center of the room. She found it odd that there was no heat emanating from the fire. If she were back home, she would assume that it was a simulation of lights to create the warm glow without the actual fire. She figured that magic had to play some part in this.

A maid quickly and quietly came forward to serve the royals some tea. It surprised Emma how quickly they had this ready. The couple hadn’t even requested it.  _ I guess it must be perks of being royalty.  _ She thought about how she was glad that this was not her world. Sure, it would have been great to grow up with her parents, but she couldn’t get past the fact that her life would be of royalty. Perhaps if she didn’t know what life was like for everyone else it wouldn’t be so bad. But she  _ did  _ know how horrible the world could be if you didn’t have money. She remembered nights where she couldn’t fall asleep because the rumbling in her stomach was too much to ignore. Other nights when she ran away from bad homes, she couldn’t find shelter and felt too unsafe to even try to sleep. It wasn’t like this for everyone. But she had lived that life and to see people living like this? It honestly made her feel sick. She just  _ knew _ that people in the kingdom had to be struggling. If they weren’t starving, they still had to be working hard. Yet if she lived here, she would have grown up being waited on hand and foot like the royals in front of her. She was disgusted with the thought. Besides she needed Henry. She was glad that she met Alexandria, but she wouldn’t trade Henry for her. If all goes well with this version of her parents, she will still be a part of the girl’s life. She couldn’t leave her now. She wouldn’t abandon her flesh and blood, not when she could clearly see that Alex needed her.

She took a sip of the tea that was placed in front of her. The slight scrunching of her nose was the only indicator she let slip of the grimace she tried to hold back. So maybe tea wasn’t her thing. She went to take a bite of the biscuit that accompanied her tea only to find that it was rock solid. Emma delicately placed her tea and the biscuit back on the tray in front of her and decided to start speaking. Perhaps the conversation would be better than the refreshments. She took a deep breath and decided to start from the top. “So, I am here because of a spell – a spell that was supposed to take me to another world, which it did. This is the Enchanted Forest, right? In my world, there is also the Enchanted Forest, just not like this. I guess you would call it an alternate dimension?”

Snow and Charming only nodded and allowed Emma to explain further.

“Well, this could take a while. Let’s start with the beginning…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, next chapter we will get a flashback to see what happened between Alex and Emma. 
> 
> Question- Do you want faster updates with chapter lengths like these? Or slower updates with longer chapters? Just wondering what you guys think!


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow and Charming find out how Emma found Alexandria.

“So Ruby- erm you would know her as Red, she found a spell to help me get away without having to actually leave. The spell would help me see whatever I needed to see the most. Anyways I landed in the forest and I stumbled upon Alexandria, and here we are.” Emma casually shrugged as if she hadn’t just explained why she made this life-altering decision and ended up in another realm.

The Charmings were shocked, to say the least. The fact that Regina could hurt Emma so much to make her flee to a _whole other world_ was inconceivable. They clearly were nothing like their Emma and Regina. But they couldn’t focus on that right now. Perhaps they could bring it up later. Alexandria was the only thing that they could think about. They had been worried sick for days for the young girl. “But how did you find her? We had soldiers looking for Regina and her both for days. They covered every in of that forest. When they came back empty, we instructed our troops to begin looking for them within the villages thinking they were kidnapped.”

\----------Flashback to Emma and Alexandria in the Enchanted Forest-------------

“No! I won’t leave her!” Alexandria stomped her little foot in a stubborn rage. Emma looked upon the girl and thought that she was a mirroring image of Regina when the two of them fought. It was clear that she was their daughter.

Her amusement died when she thought about their situation at hand. She shook her head. They couldn’t do this. “Kid, we can’t stay here. We need to get you home, you look liked you haven’t eaten for days.” At this Alexandria just shrugged. She wouldn’t budge from her mother’s side, not even to accompany her other mother.

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was sure her and Regina’s kid, she was certainly stubborn enough. “How about we get you back to the castle, and then I can teleport Regina to us.”

“Can’t you just poof us now?”

Emma didn’t really know what to say. She couldn’t lie to the child. If she was really her daughter, well the chances were that she would have a lie detector as good as hers. “I…I don’t remember where the castle is. I can’t teleport somewhere where I don’t know.”

“Is this because of the fight? Did the soldiers take your memory? Is that why you are dressed funny?”

Emma took a breath and thought about how she should reply. She didn’t want to lie to the young girl, but she really needed to get them to the castle. So far, she was lucky not to run into trouble, but she couldn’t expect that to continue. It wasn’t so much of a lie really. “Um…Yeah.”

Alex looked up at her mother and instantly knew something was wrong. She was lying about something, but she was still her mother, and she trusted her. She decided that once they got back to the castle and she was able to rest, then she would seek the truth from her mother. Right now, she just wanted to be home.

Emma couldn’t explain it. She didn’t know where the castle was, but it seemed that her feet knew exactly where to go. She kept looking at Alex’s facial expressions to gauge whether or not she was on the right track. After staring at the girl for a while, she realized that her attempts were a bit useless. Alex was starting to get wary of her mother’s blatant staring. The girl was far too young to recognize the way home to the castle from the middle of the woods. She just hoped that the direction she was heading in was the right one. She couldn’t explain why she knew it was the right way, but the beating in her heart told her she was heading towards her family. She hoped that the spell would lead her to where she needed to be. The spell would lead her home, she just knew it.

\-------Back at the Castle with Emma and the Charmings-----

Emma’s eyebrows rose in shock. “Days? She was out there alone for days?”

“Apparently. Our soldiers found your – our Emma’s body by the carriage in the clearing. Her body and multiple bodies of our men, but Regina and Alexandria were nowhere to be found. Wait- what about Regina. Was there any sign of her when you found Alex?

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Emma waved her hand and made Regina’s body appear. “Alex refused to leave her until I promised that I would transport her here as soon as I knew where the castle was. I still don’t have full control of my magic, so I wasn’t able to transport her somewhere I haven’t been before.

Emma wiped a tear that fell from her cheek. Seeing Regina’s corpse on the couch beside her made her die inside. It wasn’t _her _Regina, but it was so easy to imagine that it was. To think about a world without Regina in it, it was unbearable. She let out a bitter chuckle. “Actually, Regina is the one always nagging me about not having full control of my powers.”

Snow broke into sobs at seeing Regina’s corpse. It was true that the two women had a lot of history, but it was water under the bridge as soon as Emma and Regina got married. Well, Snow had forgiven Regina for all of her sins. Snow could never really tell if Regina had fully forgiven her. What Regina did to her was horrible of course. But what she did to Regina? That was just atrocious. She still didn’t like to think of it as she was so ashamed of her actions.

Much like she did when she saw Emma’s body, Snow walked over to the couch and crouched beside her step-daughter. Only in their warped lives could Snow end up being step-mother to the woman she once had called step-mother herself. Snow gently placed her hands on either side of Regina’s face. She placed the most delicate of kisses on Regina’s forehead and uttered a soft goodbye. “Find your peace now Regina. Go join Emma. I promise you that Alexandria will be well taken care of.”

She knew that it wasn’t her daughter but being by this Emma brought her a sense of safety and security. She was so distraught that she didn’t think twice into running into Emma’s arms. Luckily for Snow, Emma was so shaken from the scene before her that she needed some comforting as well. A part of her felt jealous of this realm’s Emma. She had her parents, her love, a child born from their true love. And the best part was that her parents seemed to have a genuine relationship with Regina, something she was doubtful that Mary Margret and the Mayor could ever fully achieve. Then she realized that she was jealous of a dead woman and it made her feel all the worse. 

As he watched the two women embrace Charming thought of a question that no one seemed to think about. He cleared his throat to grab the attention on the two crying ladies before him. “It’s been days since the attack. Since we found Emma…If Regina died that day as well, how does she look like this? How did Alexandria survive alone? If they were in the woods the entire time, how did our soldiers not find them? We ordered them to search every inch of those woods, it would have been impossible to miss them.”

Emma gently led Snow to the other couch. She needed to get out of that embrace. With the weight of a dead Regina in front of her combined with a version of Snow grieving her dead daughter and step-daughter, holding onto her for comfort – it was too much. She opened up quite a bit emotionally since arriving in Storybrooke, but even she had her limits.

“I’m not completely sure, I’m still new to this whole magic thing. But I think it was Alex’s magic that kept her safe.”

Snow shook her head. That couldn’t be right. “No. She doesn’t have magic.”

“She does. I felt it. I have magic because I am a product of True Love. Your love. If Alex is a product of my and Regina’s True Love, well then she should have magic even more powerful than mine. A second generation of true love, that has to mean something right?”

Emma started to pace around the sitting room. She was lost deep in thought it was as though she forgot that she had company. Her whispered mutterings as she put everything together would have worried the former royals had they not been aware of this trait with their own daughter. A smile lit up Emma’s as if she solved the meaning of life itself. “It had to have been her magic! When I didn’t know much about my magic, it worked when I needed to protect myself. I wasn’t aware that I was doing it..it just happened. Alexandria must have put up some sort of shield to protect herself and Regina from the soldiers. It would make sense that she didn’t know who to trust after what had just happened.”

Charming felt a faint smile grace his lips as he thought about his young granddaughter. “But how did she survive? How does Regina still look like she is just sleeping?”

This time it was Snow who answered. Her tears were replaced with a feeling of pride for the young girl in question. “Her magic. I don’t know how. Maybe she conjured up food. Or maybe her body kept her alive without food and water all that time. Emma’s right. She has to be powerful beyond belief, it would make sense that her magic acted on its own.”

“When I found her, she was silently crying on top of Regina’s body. Her magic must have preserved her too.” The image was burned inside Emma’s mind. The distraught girl crying over her mother’s corpse. It was something no child should have to endure. It pained her that any child, especially one of her own, would have to deal with that trauma and pain at such a young age. She silently reprimanded herself for referring to Alex as _hers,_ but she couldn’t help it. She was bonded to the girl. She hated the thought of returning home without her. “I’m sorry to bring this up, but what now? I’m not really sure of my place in all of this, I feel like I am intruding.”

Snow and Charming both sprung to their feet at Emma’s words. She wasn’t their daughter. But she was. They just lost her and now they have her back, at least a version of her. They weren’t ready to give that up. It was Snow that spoke first, “Now we take you to your chamber to get some rest. I know that this is a lot for you to take in as well, so some sleep should help clear your mind.”

Charming could see that Emma was a bit apprehensive to accept Snow’s offer. “I know that this is a lot to ask of you, but would you stay for a while? I know you aren’t _our _daughter but having you here has brightened up the castle in ways it hasn’t been for a while. You brought back our granddaughter, we are so thankful for that. Besides I can’t imagine what Alexandria would think with you leaving so suddenly. I know this is all complicated, but stay? Will you please stay?”

Emma wiped the tears that seemed to be endlessly falling from her eyes since she arrived here. Her voice was shaky, but she was able to get out a quiet “yes”. Even though her years in Storybrooke taught her that she could be and was loved and wanted, hearing her parent’s words touched the young lost girl inside of her. It was rare in her life that she felt wanted. That, someone, had asked her to stay. Especially with everything that went on with Regina lately, she really needed to feel wanted. It was relief to her soul to know that someone needed her and that they wanted her to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Life is so hectic right now, but I will finish this story!
> 
> Next up we will get some Storbyrooke SQ interaction with possible flashbacks of other world's SQ. If not next chapter, then in the near future. I plan on telling more about other world's SQ and their story. You might have caught some hints in here how their story differed from our original characters', but that is for future chapters!


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma returns home.

Henry was in his room packing for a week with his birth mother when he heard his mother knock on his door. He opened the door as a silent invitation to his mother granting her permission to enter his room. Naturally, he had picked up on some habits from his blonde mother and had saved his packing for literally the hour before. Now he shoved clothes in a duffle bag as quickly as he could so he could bike over to the cabin in the woods. He glanced over to see his mother deep in thought sitting on his bed. “Mom, what’s up?”

Regina seemed to be brought out of her daze when she heard her son speak. She played with the hands in her lap. She was nervous. She barely convinced herself to shoot her shot with Emma, but what if she couldn’t convince Henry as well? She shook her head free of these doubts. So much had already stood in her way of her own happy ending, namely herself, she wasn’t going to let any more fears keep her from Emma.

She extended her arm out to Henry inviting him to take a seat next to her. Even on the edge of the bed, her majesty’s posture was fit for a queen. “Honey come sit. I have something that I want to discuss with you.”

“Is this about Grace and I in class yesterday? Because Mom, honestly it wasn’t even…” Henry trailed off when he saw the confusion in his mother’s eyes.

“No? But what is this about you and Grace?” Regina raised her eyebrow in a face that only she alone could pull off. Her eyebrows demanded more information while her eyes and her mouth warned the recipient to tread carefully.

“Mom, let’s not get distracted here.” He flashed her an award-winning politician smile. “Now what were you saying?”

Regina shook her head and decided to let it go. Picking your battles right? “I am hoping to pursue a romantic relationship with Ms. Swan. Would you be okay with this? I want to know how you would feel about that.”

“Well first try calling mom by her name. It’s Emma, not Miss Swan.” Henry deflected he didn’t know how to answer his mother. Of course, he wanted them together, he had been rooting for them to get together this entire time. But he also knew that his mother had hurt Emma so deeply that it caused her to flee to another world. If he agreed to this, would he only be giving his mother false hope?

Yet, on the other hand, he couldn’t squash was hope she did have. He looked at his mother and she seemed to have this hopeful gleam in her eyes. She finally got everything figured out and he wasn’t going to squash that. But perhaps her on a more appropriate level? “Mom, I have always been rooting for the two of you to get together. I want you both to be happy, and if it is with each other? Well, I couldn’t think of anything greater. But don’t you think you should try mending your friendship before you try taking it any further?”

Regina’s cheeks flushed red as she heard his son’s words. She was ashamed that he knew of her actions. “How did you know-? You know what, never mind. Yes, of course, I am going to try to reclaim my friendship with Emma. I just wanted to ask you now, if things were to progress if you would be okay with that?”

Henry got up off the bed and began to put the last items into his duffel bag. “Mom, of course, you have my blessing” he scrunched his with his next thought, “just don’t be all gross in front of me.”

Regina too rose as she walked over to her son and gently cupped his cheek. “Of course not my Little Prince. Now it’s cold out and I want to begin apologizing to Emma, so I will drive you over to the cabin.”

Henry’s wide eyes and lack of response gave her pause. “Unless there is a problem?”

Henry didn’t know what to say. He would have to come clean about everything when they arrived, and she asked to speak to Emma. But she would have found out eventually, right? Sensing he couldn’t answer with anything but accepting her proposal, he stammered out a quick and shaky “of course not. Thanks, mom..” He trailed off as he thought about how much trouble he would soon be in. His mother didn’t take kindly to being lied to. He just hoped that keeping the lie for his other mother would get him off the hook. He sighed to himself. _One can only hope_.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

The drive to the cabin was uncomfortably quiet. Henry was lost in his thoughts thinking about the upcoming trouble he would soon be in. He didn’t know how to best break the news to his mother about Emma’s absence. Meanwhile, Regina jumped to conclusions about Henry’s unusual silence. She worried that perhaps his son was so accepting of the idea of her and Emma being together than he originally let on. What else could have brought on this sudden change in behavior?

They arrived and quietly exited the car. Regina was unsure of her next actions, but she needed to stay on track with repairing her relationship with Emma. The flowers that she placed in the car before Henry could see was the first step to that. Sure she was nervous beyond belief, but Emma deserved better. She would be better for her.

Regina stalked up the path to the cabin’s front door with fierce determination in her eyes. Her insides were shaking terribly, but on the outside, she exuded nothing but confidence. She took a deep breath and knocked.

And she knocked..

And she knocked…

Henry winced with every bang of his mother’s fist against the door. It was time to come clean. “Mom, stop. She isn’t going to answer the door. I have a key.”

“What do you mean she isn’t going to answer. Just where is she, Henry?” By now Regina’s nerves were shot. She was nervous enough to talk to Emma and finally apologize. The woman’s absence was doing nothing to calm her nerves.

Henry gave her a sheepish smile as his gaze fell to the floor. With a hand cupping the back of his neck he quickly mumbled out “She isn’t answering because she isn’t here. Not yet anyways.”

“Just what does that mean Henry. Where on Earth could Ms. Swan possibly be.”

Henry let out a small snort at his mother’s word choice. Emma wasn’t anywhere on this Earth, but obviously his adoptive mother didn’t know that. He took a moment to try to find the right words. He could see how worried she was. She always did that. Regina always masked her worry with anger.

“Henry Daniel Mills if you do not answer me…” She didn’t need to finish this sentence. The look in Henry’s eyes was enough. No threat could compare to the look on her face. “Where. Is. Your. Mother?”

Henry finally looked up at his mother. Perhaps letting it all out would be the best. Just like ripping off a bandaid right? “Emma isn’t here mom. Emma hasn’t been here at the cabin for this past month. Ruby helped her find a spell to let her get away for a while. We planned it that at the end of the month I would come stay with her and bring her back from the spell. She has a potion inside all ready for me to bring her home.”

“A spell? Do you know how dangerous that could be! You didn’t think to tell me?” She wouldn’t lie to herself. It hurt that he had kept this from her. She tried not to think about those years ago when he was constantly lying to her in favor of his birth mother. Sure they had moved on from then, but the hurt still lingered.

“I promised her. You didn’t see how much she was hurting. I was scared if I told you, you would convince her not to use the spell. You didn’t see her mom. I was scared she was going to leave Storybrooke for good if she didn’t get away. I couldn’t risk it. I need her here just as much as I need you.”

“Why would she need to get away?” She had missed that piece of information when Henry first told her. She was so worried about Emma’s safety that she couldn’t think of anything else. She had her suspicions but she was terrified of the answer.

Henry could answer his mother. He didn’t know the extent of what happened. All he knew was that his mother did something horrible to Emma that made her feel like she had to leave. It wasn’t his place to say anything. He didn’t know all the facts. He couldn’t make an already fragile situation even worse.

Regina waited for an answer and realized that she wasn’t going to get one, at least not verbally. Henry’s silence and lack of eye contact was all the answer she needed. “Oh…I see” Hearing that _she _was the reason that Emma had literally fled to a whole _other world_ was a lot to take in. “So, when will Ms. Swan be returning? Did you really think I would allow you to stay out here alone for a week?”

“No, Mom wait. We kind of had this all planned out. She said she would be out here for a month, but really, she’s gone. The spell, well time might move differently there. That’s why at the end of that month I would come out here and bring her back.”

Regina’s eyes widened in panic. She hoped with everything that she had that she would be able to mend her relationship with Emma. But what if too much time had passed? What had been three weeks for her could have been months for the other woman. It could have been years. What if that time only helped Emma’s resentment towards her to grow? What if Emma was no longer in love with her? Regina physically grimaced as if she had been punched in the gut. It felt like it. A world where she was lucky enough to gain Emma’s love and to throw it away? The thought was unbearable. She had to fix this. There couldn’t be any other way.

“Well Henry, let’s go inside. It is time to bring back Ms. Swan.” She walked past her son that stood awkwardly by the doorway. He was unsure how his mother would react coming back only to see Regina so soon. As Regina walked further into the cabin, she turned her head and narrowed her eyes, “Don’t think that you won’t be punished for this Henry.”

They walked into the kitchen where Emma had left her instructions for Henry. All he had to do was to pour the potion onto the floor and call her name. The spell would do the rest of the work.

Regina inside was seething. She couldn’t believe the two most important people in her life keeping a secret like this from her. Yet she couldn’t be mad either. It hurt. It hurt like hell, but she understood. She hurt Emma terribly and her son was only trying to help his mother. She pointedly looked at Henry. “Well go on.”

Henry winced a little at his mother’s tone. She was being short with him. But he couldn’t blame her. He hated lying to her, but it was necessary.

He took a deep breath.

He poured the potion.

He recited the small incantation.

He called out his mother’s name.

Blue mist surrounded the kitchen. Soon a small portal formed in the ground. Before either of them could even blink there stood Emma Swan in front of them. Except she wasn’t alone. There attached to her hip was the cutest little girl that either of them had ever seen. Emma smiled brightly at her son, proud of him for helping her through all of this. Her smile visibly shrunk when she saw Regina standing next to him. She wasn’t upset to see her. She was just confused. Why was she here?

Emma was perplexed by the mirrored confusion she saw in the faces in front of her. She tilted her head trying to figure out why they were gaping at her. _Oh_. _Right._

“Regina, Henry, I would like you to meet Alexandria…my daughter.”

Henry’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as he took in the young girl on his mother’s hip. He always wanted a sibling, but he was just a bit confused. Did time really work that differently that his mother had time to have this young child?

Regina didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t think. Emma had a daughter. Emma has a daughter. _Emma had to be with someone to have a daughter._ The small glimmer of hope she had all but completely fled. She had been punched in the gut, she just knew it. Her worst fears came true right in front of her. Emma had moved on. Emma had found another. Emma shared a child with someone that wasn’t her. Her words failed her, she could only gawk at the sight in front of her. 

The cabin was completely silent as the four occupants kept staring at each other. The sound of a bouquet of flowers dropping to the floor was the only sound to break the silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? An update a day later? Well I'm proud of myself.  
Okay, I lied not SQ interaction but it totally sets it up for next chapter. Sorry, I just start writing then all of these ideas pop into my head. The story has a mind of its own, to be honest.


	14. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and her children go house hunting.

Emma gently placed Alex on the floor so that she could properly greet her son. “Kid, come here its been so long!” She walked forward to entrap her son in one of the longest and tightest hugs she had ever given. She couldn’t help it, she just missed him so much. What she didn’t notice right away was that there was someone hugging her leg just as fiercely. When the recognition finally hit, Emma’s eyes widened as she took into account how this situation might have felt like for her daughter. She was in a completely different world. The cabin was nothing like the castle she spent her whole life in. This kind of culture shock at such a young age had to be traumatizing to her.

Emma hesitantly looked towards Henry and Regina. “Perhaps you can come back later? I promise that I will fill you in on everything, but I need to take care of Alex right now.”

She tried so hard not to let the disappointment she felt show. If Emma needed space right now, she would give her space, no matter how much it hurt. “Yes, of course. Feel free to stop by the mansion whenever you are ready.” She turned to leave but noticed that Henry hadn’t budged from his place. “Come along Henry”.

Henry didn’t know if he should say what he wanted to say or to move along. He glanced at Alex and his mind was made. “Ma, if it’s okay I really would like to meet my little sister.”

Emma looked down at her daughter and saw that her eyes lit up. When she told Alex about Henry back at the castle, the little girl was completely overjoyed at the thought of having a big brother. Every night she would ask her mother to tell her a different story about her brother. She wanted to know everything. She needed to know all about him.

Emma made her mind up. Henry needed to stay. Even though he was never at the castle with them, he was a comfort to Alexandria that reminded her of home. “Henry of course. Let me just get Alex settled in the bedroom. I know that she will love to properly meet you. She has been jabbering my ear off for weeks about meeting her big brother. She’s just a bit overwhelmed right now.”

Regina took in the scene in front of her. It was a beautiful sight, but she felt as though she didn’t belong. A mother with her two children, there wasn’t a more beautiful sight. Regina knew that she always held a place with Henry. She wasn’t so sure she held a place with Emma and her daughter. There was nothing tying her there. She took her friendship with Emma and nearly beaten it to death. She felt as though she was on the outside looking into this perfect picture that she could never be a part of. 

As Regina quietly made her departure, she caught the soft murmurings of Emma comforting her daughter. “Come on baby girl. Let’s get you upstairs and in bed. I know that today has been a long day for you my little Swan.” Regina had to pause just a few steps away from the door. How she so longed to belong with the small family. She couldn’t help but feel that it was supposed to be she and Emma taking care of the young girl. She didn’t know what it was that drew her so much to the young girl. It physically hurt her heart to leave Emma and Alexandria after not seeing her for so long, and after just meeting the other. She just knew that the little girl would permanently have a place in her heart. She just didn’t know why. Perhaps she was so in love with Emma that naturally so she would her daughter as well? Yes. That must be it.

The front door silently clicked closed. Much like her departure, Regina felt that her absence would be just as oblivious to the occupants within the cabin. But who was she to blame? She did this to herself.

As Emma moved around the cabin getting ready to put Alex to bed, she noticed Henry silently hovering behind her. From the gleam in his eyes, she could tell that he was dying to know what went on during the spell. She closed her eyes for a bit, she couldn’t really think of that right now. “Kid, I promise I will tell you everything but later, okay? Right now, I am so drained. It has been a crazy couple of months.”

Henry just nodded. He understood that his mother needed time. It didn’t mean that it quelled his curiosity any though. He did pick up on her usage of  _ months,  _ so how could Alexandria be her daughter? The young girl seemed to be around five. His natural curiosity was killing him right now, but he tried his best to tone it down for his mother.

Emma picked up Alex and gently laid her down onto the bed. She was planning on joining her daughter soon, but she wanted to give the siblings some time alone to get to know each other. She bent down to stroke her daughter’s hair. “Alright my little Swan, it is time for bed. But before that, I want you to officially meet someone very special.” She turned her head around as to not shout in her daughter’s ears. “Hen, can you come in here for a sec?”

Henry awkwardly shuffled into the room. His actions were so small as if he were in the proximity of a wild animal. With small wave, he let out a quick “hi”.

Alexandria, on the other hand, was anything but nervous. The original hesitation that she displayed downstairs had completely vanished. Where Emma’s motherly consideration made her cautiously avoid screaming in her daughter’s ear, Alexandria did not share the same consideration. The girl let out a loud squeal “Henry!” It was like she was meeting her favorite celebrity for the first time. She was in awe of her big brother that stood before her.

Alexandria’s excitement seemed to put Henry at ease. She could see that the two were about to participate in a riveting conversation, so she took it as an opportunity to step out of the room. She grabbed some of the bags she had prepared earlier. She didn’t have anything for Alex because of course, she didn’t expect to gain a daughter from her trip. But she couldn’t be happier about it. She made a mental note to head to the store tomorrow and buy everything for Alex that she could want for. The girl was a princess after all. Emma shook her head thinking about how much she already wanted to spoil her little girl. When she made it back to the bedroom, the sight that greeted her made her heart melt. Both of her children lay on the bed sound asleep. Henry had his arm around Alex in a protective embrace while Alex seemed to be using him as her own personal pillow.

She didn’t dare disturb her children, so she turned off the light and silently closed the door. A night on the couch was nothing.  _ Come on Swan. You lived in the bug, the least you can do is crash on a couch _ . 

In the morning she was awoken by two smiling faces look down at her.

“Hi Mommy!”

“So, Ma, what’s the plan for today?”

So Emma wasn’t a morning person; She never claimed to be. She simply gave her son a look that screamed “not before my coffee.”

Henry chuckled at how he knew his mother so well. He handed her the coffee that he had already prepared for her. The duo sat down beside her allowing her to finish her drink. The second she finished Henry was quick with his question, “So, Ma, what’s the plan for today?”

Emma now having had her morning coffee was in a much better mood. She was able to now appreciate his antics. “Actually, I was wondering if you were up for house hunting? I was already meaning to move out of the loft and get us our own space, because you know how it gets...” They both shared a knowing look. Life was just too crowded in the Loft. “Anyways, now that I have both you and Alex, we really need our own place. Besides I want to finally buy a house, a place I can really call my home.” Emma drifted off as her eyes got shiny. Henry didn’t push his mother to carry on with her thought. He knew how important having a home was for her. He still couldn’t imagine what his mother had gone through in her childhood. Every time that Emma showed trauma from her childhood, he silently thanked his mother for adopting him so young. He saw the moment that Emma tried to physically shake the thoughts from her mind. “Anyways, I want to buy a 3 bedroom or maybe a 4 bedroom house. That way you and Alex can have your own rooms, and she will have plenty of room to grow and play. What do you think Hen?”

Henry beamed up at his mother, “it sounds great Ma.”

“Why don’t we stop by Gold’s so I can ask Belle to show us some places. Then Granny’s for breakfast?”

Henry fist-pumped excited by the idea. Alex had no idea what any of that meant, but she picked up on Henry’s excitement and wholeheartedly agreed with the plans.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the mansion, Regina awoke to a silent home.  _ So much for a home.  _ She rolled her eyes at the thought. She felt at home when she was with Henry and Emma - and now she supposed Alexandria as well. Waking up to an empty mansion? This was not home. At least not for her. Her heart ached as the thought of where she would make rather be waking up at. She couldn’t handle the loneliness her thoughts had plagued her with. Rather than wallowing in her pity at the mansion, she would treat herself to breakfast at Granny’s. Yes, that sounded like a much better idea. 

It was a great idea until she found the three people she could not stop thinking about what into the diner. They seemed like quite the happy family. The three were just finishing up with breakfast. She ignored the pain of not being invited.  _ Why would they invite you? You don’t belong with them.  _

She wanted to make a clean getaway before Henry noticed her. “Mom!” It was clear by his face that he was beckoning her over. She couldn’t just leave now. So she plastered on the most sincere fake smile that she could come up with. She approached the table and stopped a foot away from the people she wanted to be the closest to. Her heart seemed to be faster in such close proximity to Emma. “Hello, dears, what are you up to today?”

Regina was a bit perplexed by the way that Alex seemed to shrink into the booth. She refused to look at her. Regina didn’t think that she had done anything to offend the young girl, but she was worried that they already started off on the wrong foot. She wanted to get along with young Alexandria not just for Emma’s sake, but she genuinely wanted to get to know the young girl. Before she could think too much more of it, Henry was excitingly answering her question. “We are going house hunting!” He beamed up at his mother. Completely excited at getting to live with his other mother in a place of their own. He was done with the loft. 

“Oh..” Regina didn’t know what to say to that. She knew what she wanted to say.  _ Move in with me. The mansion has plenty of room. It’s only logical...and we can be a true family.  _ She berated herself for her thoughts. Yet the idea of living with the Henry, Emma, and Alexandira under the same roof, it filled her with such happiness that she dared not to think of. “That sounds lovely, I should leave you to it.”

She turned to make a quick departure. Breakfast completely forgotten. She wasn’t so hungry anymore anyway. She started at the exit with fierce determination until she felt a hand cup her arm blocking her departure. She looked back to see Emma smiling up at her.

“Actually, Regina, would you like to join us? You have great taste and I would really appreciate your input.” Emma wasn’t sure what she was doing. She just knew that she wanted Regina around. If nothing more, she would love to have the woman back in her life as a friend. Her time apart, seeing a dead Regina made her realize that she still needed the brunette in her life. The woman hadn’t apologized and Emma was unsure if she could ever forgive her, but she needed to be cordial with her at the very least. 

Regina’s smile warmed Emma’s heart. “I would love to.”  _ Perhaps not all hope was lost? _

Belle had sent her a text of where they should meet for their first location. She recognized the street and realized it was just a short walk to Regina’s. It would make it much easier for Henry when he switched between homes. While Regina and Emma hadn’t had a chance to rebuild their friendship, she was excited about the idea of living so near the other woman. 

The house itself was everything that she had ever wanted. It was a cute little house. The outside was a soft yellow that reminded her of her beloved bug. The inside though was a combination of modern and cozy. The four bedroom house was exactly what she was looking for. It wasn’t too big for the three of them, but definitely big enough for Alex to run around and grow. The backyard was huge and it led into the woods. She would have to make strict rules with Alex about not exploring too much, but she didn’t think it would be a problem. Two bedrooms were located upstairs with two bedrooms downstairs. She liked the idea of having Alex and Henry both upstairs with their bit of privacy. The master was close to their rooms, but not too close. It was everything she wanted, and it was just in her price range. She didn’t even try haggling with Belle on price. She was ready to pay in full. She had quite the bank account back from her bails bond days. Her lack of roots made it so she never spent too much of her money. When she became Sheriff she saved all of her money as well. 

Once she got the stamp of approval from Regina, Henry, and Alex her decision was made. This was the one. Belle already had the paperwork ready. The woman had a hunch that this house would be the one, and she was certainly correct. 

Emma was finishing up the paperwork with Belle as she looked over at the three in the living room. She was eager to finish up and get back to Alex. The poor girl looked - lost? Emma tried peicing out what brought upon this change. Alexandria’s entire demeanor had changed. She was so excited up until they arrived at Granny’s. At the diner, she suddenly became withdrawn and scared almost? Emma’s eyes widened as she finally fit all of the pieces together. Of course! She could almost facepalm herself with how stupid she had been.

Of course, Alex was going to be nervous around Regina. The woman was an exact  _ living  _ replica of her mother’s corpse who she cried over months ago. To see her mother die, to bury her, and to see her again in this new world? No wonder the girl was frightened. Emma was surprised that she didn’t scream and start crying when she first saw Regina. Emma had helped Alex mourn her mother and come to a peace of some sorts about her death. It was all still too much for her young brain to grasp, but she had tried her best.

It was different in Emma’s case. Alex never saw her body-she never saw her dead. No wonder she tensed up the night before. Part of her wondered why she didn’t react more. But she figured it was the stress of the situation, overruled by the excitement of meeting Henry and her overall exhaustion that made her forget about the encounter. Up until the moment that she saw Regina again this morning. No wonder the young girl held onto her hand like it was a life-preserver. Her heart ached that her child was so scared. But she was a bit in awe of the bravery that Alex obviously had.

She had to get Alex away from Regina as soon as possible. She finished signing papers with Belle so she made her way back to the three people waiting for her in the living room. She caught sight of how Alex tried her best to distance herself from Regina. She berated herself. She should have been more sensitive. Her first day with her child alone and she was already failing her. 

Belle handed her the keys to the house and left the family on their own. Now that they had everything finished up at the house, Emma was able to create their exit plan. She smiled at Regina. “Thank you for helping us. Even if I did just buy the first house that I saw. But I know this is the one.” Emma rocked on her heels, keeping her hands in her back pockets. A nervous habit that she had. “Anyways we need to head out and get Alexandria some essentials. Thank you again, Regina.”

“Actually, I was wondering if you would like to come back to the mansion for a celebratory dinner perhaps?”

Emma hated having to turn down Regina like this, but she really needed to talk to Alex alone. “Sorry, we will be shopping for such a long time. Alex doesn’t have anything so we will be going on a shopping spree of sorts. She’ll be so tired after I will just take her back to the cabin until we settle in here.”

Regina nodded and did her best to hide her disappointment. So maybe Emma’s offer was made from pity instead of genuinely wanting her presence. She knew when she was being dismissed. She got Emma’s message loud and clear. “Yes of course. I will see you, um, sometime.” With a flash of purple smoke, Regina was gone.

Emma closed her eyes for a quick second. She didn’t want to hurt Regina, but she needed to do what was best for Alexandria. She would clear everything up eventually. But now her children were her priority. “So who’s up for some shopping?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma tells everyone what happened while she was away

“Hey, Ems! Sorry I got a bit held up at the diner.” Ruby closed the door behind her and placed a quick peck of a kiss on her friend’s cheek. It was then that she realized Emma’s eyes became fixated on the bag that she carried. Ruby shook her head in amusement. “I brought you some food, but after okay? I’m dying to know about your trip!”

“Rubes! I love you so much” Emma groaned at the delicious smell emanating from the bag. As she walked to the fridge she stole a quick glance at the contents. Grilled cheese with onion rings. She tipped her to the ceiling, closed her eyes, and let out a small groan at the thought of waiting to dig into this delicious meal. As she closed the fridge she let out a small laugh as she shook her head. Her friend knew her so well. 

Ruby went to take a spot in her friend’s new living room. She had to admit the place looked really nice. The only problem? There wasn’t enough seating. She let out a small sigh when she realized that she would have to sit by Regina on the couch. The second she sat down the other woman couldn’t resist getting a word in. 

“I’m sorry, I thought this was a family meeting? Seeing as you are not, just what are you doing here Ms. Lucas?” She couldn’t help herself. She was already upset with the woman for standing up to her in her office, but to find out she also helped Emma getaway? It made her blood boil the second that she saw her. 

Unfortunately for Regina, this was the exact time that Emma walked past the pair and heard Regina’s comment. Before Ruby even had the opportunity to snap at the other woman, Emma beat her to it.

Emma subtly stepped in between Regina and Ruby acting as a physical buffer. Her arms crossed and her face clearly unamused, she informed the other woman, “back off. I invited her here to  _ my  _ home. Plus Ruby  _ is _ family.”

Regina wasn’t impressed with the tone that Emma used with her, but she didn’t argue. The former queen would have killed anyone that spoke to her in that manner, but she was better now. For Emma, for Henry, for herself. She vowed to be better. So she dropped it.  _ It doesn’t mean I have to apologize to the mutt though. _

Ruby looked up to Emma with admiration in her eyes. A look that in Regina’s jealous haze got mistaken for as something more than it was. Ruby was touched that Emma considered her family. In the past no one wanted the werewolf to be part of their family, and to hear Emma just claim her like that? It melted her heart. Yet the only thing that Regina saw was someone looking at  _ her  _ Sherriff the wrong way. She knew she had a long journey ahead trying to fix things with Emma, but she didn’t like the idea of having to compete with the wolf for her love’s affection.

Before Regina’s jealousy could manifest itself some more, Emma decided it was finally time. She would finally get everything off her chest. The thought was terrifying, but it needed to be done. 

“Alright. So I brought you all here today because I have a lot of news to share with you. It has been a crazy past couple of months, and I thought I would update you all.”

Emma looked over to see her parent’s identical faces of confusion. She pointed to them, “right, you don’t get that. But it will all make sense in a bit. I only ask is that you let me get everything out before you start asking questions. Trust me you will have lots of questions, but it's a long story so bear with me.”

“So when I told you I was going to be staying at Gold’s cabin in the woods, that was a lie. Or a partial lie. Really, I went there so I could enact a spell without anyone noticing.”

Emma saw Snow’s eyes go wide with maternal concern. “Before you say anything, people did now of my plans, but they were sworn to secrecy. Ruby and Belle assured me the spell was completely safe. Plus I prepared Henry with everything he would need to know to bring me back.”

Emma put her hand over her forehead and closed her eyes in frustration with how badly she was telling her story. “Okay, sorry forgot to mention that  _ some things  _ happened and I just needed to get away for a while…” So talking about this in front of Regina was incredibly awkward. She did her best not to make eye contact with the woman. Yes it was her fault, yes she should feel bad about it, but no, Emma was not going to rub it in her face either. 

“So…” she took a breath trying to gain her courage. And another breath. Until a few seconds had passed. Five pairs of eyes stared at her waiting for her to begin, only to be met with complete silence.  _ Come on Swan, use your words!  _ “Um, so this spell. It's called A Spell of Another World. Essentially it was supposed to take me to another world and show me what I needed to see the most -which it did. It took me to the Enchanted Forest. Or another version of it. Everything was kind of the same, but really different too. In fact, I was the Queen there.” Emma lifted her chin in pride. She technically wasn’t queen but she was sure as hell proud of the version of her that was.

“I got there and found a girl lost in the woods. It turns out that the young girl I found...she is my daughter. Or Queen Emma’s daughter. I helped her get back to the castle where I met you, Mom and Dad. You- They informed me that their Emma had died and that the kingdom was looking for their lost princess that I had just returned. I spent months there. It was amazing.” Emma trailed off with a fond smile on her face as she lost her words to the memories she cherished. 

Snow and Charming didn’t know what to think. Unlike the rest of the group, they were the only two that didn’t have any bits and pieces of information. They were left completely in the dark, so this new information Emma provided them with hit them like a tidal wave.

Besides confusion, Snow’s other most prominent emotion was jealousy. She was jealous of this other Snow who got to live out in the Enchanted Forest with her daughter. Not only that but Emma was queen. So obviously this Snow got to fuss over her princess as much as she wanted to. And she called the Enchanted Forest  _ amazing _ . When they were there Emma couldn’t stop complaining about how horrible it was! When they wanted to go back, Emma flat out refused to go with them!

“Anyways, I talked to other Snow and Charming about the spell and they really helped me heal. They gave me some great advice. After the first month, they told me that I should take Alexandria home with me. That the young girl deserved to be with her mother. I’m not her mother, but I am. She knows that I’m not technically her mom. I think it is still a lot for her young brain to wrap around. But she’s mine.”

Emma took a step backwards to motion to the house. “Just like this house is mine”. She stepped towards Henry and cupped his face with her palms. “Just like you are mine.” She really hoped that he was okay with this as he said to be. On the outside, he looked thrilled to be a big brother, but Emma wasn’t really sure what was going inside in the beautiful brain of his. She made a mental note to check in with him once they were alone.

Charming was the first to break the silence. “Months. You said months, Emma. What did you mean by that?”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that. It is just how the spell works. In order to show me everything I needed to see without losing too much of my actual time, the spell took me somewhere where time worked differently. I almost spent an entire year of there, while I was just gone a little under a month here.”

The whole group went silent at that. She spent a whole year without them, and they didn’t even know. 

Snow was the first to find her words. “Can we meet her?” The her in question was quite obvious. Emma bit her lip as she subconsciously glanced upstairs to Alex's room. She was tempted to say no because Regina was there. She didn’t want to make Alex any more uncomfortable than she already was. But perhaps she would be too distracted with her grandparents to even notice Regina. 

Emma decided then. “I will see if she’s awake. If not, then you will have to meet her another time.” She left the living room and slowly climbed the stairs. It was fine. She would ask Alex how she felt. She had no problem lying to her guests to keep Alex comfortable. 

She slowly opened the door to see if her daughter was sleeping or not. She walked into quite the sight. Young Alex was playing with her dolls. She was playing Queen in fact, her dolls were her subjects while she was holding court. Emma thought back to Queen Regina and how proud she would be of her little princess. 

Emma felt a pang of guilt thinking about how she took Alex away from the throne that was rightfully hers. But she was better off with her mother in Storybrooke, right? Family instead of the crown, it was the right choice. She knew it. 

“Mommy!” Little Alex ran towards her mother when she saw her lingering by the door. 

Thankfully Emma had quick reflexes to catch the young girl as she lunged for her. With Alex safely in her arms, she smiled down and placed a gentle kiss on her hair. “Princess, there are some people that want to meet you downstairs, do you feel up to that?”

She could tell her little girl was nervous, but she was oh so brave too. “You’ll be with me the entire time?”

“Of course, I won’t let you out of my sight for a second.”

She let out a small sigh. “Okayy, I’m ready.” 

Emma smiled down at her brave girl. With Alex attached to her hip, they slowly made their way downstairs. As soon as Alex caught sight of her brother, she was ready to jump out of her mother’s arms. Emma had to quickly set her girl down before she hurt herself.

“Henry!” Luckily for him, he was already sitting down on the couch. The couch acted as a soft stabilizing force as Alex jumped right onto his lap. Had he been sitting on a chair instead of the couch, the force of her jump would have definitely knocked them both over.

“Little Swan! How is my favorite sister doing?”

Alex let out a big chuckle at this. “I’m your only sister Henry! You’re silly!!”

Henry hit his forehead in faux punishment of his foolishness. “Of course Little Swan. How could I forget? There are some people that want to meet you.”

This prompted the little girl to turn around and face the rest of the living room occupants. Her eyes went wide once she recognized Snow and Charming.

She too ran into their arms. “Grandma! Grandpa!” 

At this Emma crouched down to Alex’s level to help explain things to her. “Not exactly my Little Swan. Remember how Grandma, Grandpa, and I talked to you about coming here to Storybrooke? You would see people that look like everyone you know, but it isn’t exactly like them.”

Alex slowly nodded her head, trying hard to remember that conversation. She was a bit confused, but she thought she understood. “Like you Mommy?”

Emma smiled down at her daughter. The girl was just so smart. “Exactly!”

“So if you aren’t Mommy, but you are still my Mommy...does that mean they could be my grandparents too?” 

Instead of looking to her mother for an answer, Alex looked to the people whose lap she currently sat in. Snow and Charming had tears in their eyes as they regarded their granddaughter. Simultaneously the two of them replied, “of course we can be your grandparents”. Alex hugged the pair tightly as they silently wept into her hair. After a minute or two of this Alex was wiggling trying to get out of their embrace.

When she finally broke free of them she turned her head to notice another familiar face in the room. “Red!” 

Ruby knelt down to Alex’s level. “It’s so nice to meet you Little Pup! You can call me Red, but I also go by Ruby in this world.” 

Alex was happy to have these familiar faces around here. “Are you a wolf here too?”

With a smile that bared her canine teeth, she answered the young girl in front of her, “of course!”

The only other person who hadn’t yet had a moment with Alex was Regina. She slowly made her way over to the young girl, but the result wasn’t what she wanted. When Alex saw Regina she visibly shook.

Regina wanted to retreat but she was already in front of the young girl. It seemed like she couldn’t get away from the Evil Queen even in different worlds. Why else would Alex be so scared of her? Surely she knew her as the Evil Queen. 

“Hello, Alexandra. It is so nice to meet you.”

Alex let out a small hello. She was taught to be polite to everyone. After her quick hello she ran into her mother’s arms. She whispered into her mother’s ear, “I want to go back upstairs now.”

Emma nodded at her daughter’s words. She craned her neck to quickly look at her guests. “Excuse us”

She quickly took her daughter to her room. She placed Alex onto her bed and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I am so proud of you my Princess. I am going to get everyone to leave and then it will be just you and me. I’ll even show you what a movie is. How does that sound?”

Alex’s concerns soon melted away. It was visible as the relief flew threw her little body. Her eyes shone so brightly, “can Henry stay?”

“I’ll ask my Little Swan. I’m sure he would love to spend time with his favorite sister.” Emma got off the bed to walk towards the door. Before closing the door behind her, she looked back at Alex one more time. “Give me five minutes, then I’ll come get you.”

Alex let out a small smile as her way of agreeing to her mother’s words. The worry she felt completely ebbed away. She was safe with her mommy. She knew it in her heart that her mother would always protect her. 

Emma slowly made her way downstairs eager but hesitant to get everyone out of the house. What was the most polite way to kick everyone out?  _ I know I gathered you all here, but now we are done so please get out?  _ At the bottom of the steps, she clasped her hands together and looked at her guests. “Um, Alex isn’t feeling so well. I think we need to spend some time alone. I’m sorry but we can meet you all again later?”

Ruby was the first to speak out, “of course!” She went forward to hug her friend. As she pulled away she locked eyes with her friend hoping to convey her sincerity. “Promise you’ll call if you need anything?”

“Of course Rubes.”

“Good, because I need to see that little wolf of mine again soon!” Ruby made her way towards the door and silently let herself out. She hoped that her example would soon get everyone else to leave. She could tell how anxious Emma was to get everyone out. Of course, they all wanted to stay and learn more, especially about Alex. But that would have to wait.

Snow and Charming were next to see themselves out. After hugging their daughter as if they were the ones who hadn’t seen her in a year. The Charmings always did have a flair for the dramatic. 

Only Regina and Henry remained in the living room. Emma desperately wanted to reach out to Regina and calm her down. She could see how upset she was over Alex’s reaction. But how could she approach this?

Before she could say anything Regina beat her to it. “Emma, would you mind if I talked to her? She’s scared of me isn’t she?”   
  


Emma let out a deep breath. Seeing Regina this upset was killing her inside. She was still upset with the woman, but seeing the woman she loved so distraught? It made her heartache. “Regina now isn’t really a good time.”

“So she is scared of me?”

Emma couldn’t answer. Suddenly the floor in front of her looked very interesting. How could she answer?  _ Yes, Alex is scared of you because in the other world she laid on Other Regina’s dead body for days. That she is scared of you because to her, you are back from the dead?  _

“I see. I hope that sooner rather than later I can talk to her. I know she must see me as the Evil Queen-”

“Hey, no-”

“Really Miss Swan, it's okay. I am used to it by now. Henry and I will just be taking our leave now.”

Regina had her hands on Henry’s shoulder steering him towards the front door, completing missing the hesitance in his face. 

“Actually, Hen, if it’s alright with your mom, would you mind staying? Alex is really freaked out right now and she asked if you could stay. I’m sure she would love to have her big brother with her.”

Henry’s excitement was clear by the huge grin on his face. With hope gleaming in his eyes he turned to face his mother silently asking for permission. 

Regina just nodded. “Of course. I hope you all have a lovely evening.” Regina made her way to the front door. Every step she took her heart broke a bit more. She wanted nothing more than to stay in the home with the people she loved most. She wanted nothing more than to belong in this home with them. But she didn’t.

As she closed the front door a stray tear made its way down her cheek. Her departure surely didn’t cause anyone pain other than herself as she heard the excited chatter from within the house. They were fine without her. It broke her heart.

What Regina didn’t know is that Emma’s heart was breaking too. She saw the pain in Regina’s eyes as she exited. She wanted nothing more than to call her back and ask her to stay. But she had to think of Alex. Alex’s comfort in her own home came first.

She shook her head trying to get Regina’s distraught face out of her mind. She would figure out a way to talk to Alex soon. She would explain to her that this was another version of Regina, one that didn’t die. But should she tell Regina that in another world she was the other parent to Alex? Did she deserve to know this? Would this information make her want to be Alex’s other mom? Emma raised Alex for a year, she deserved her title as Alex’s mother. But just because another version of Regina was this girl’s mother, does that automatically give this Regina any say? Did she want to share Alex? Would she be hurting her daughter if she kept Regina from her? 

So many questions swam through her mind at a lightning-fast speed. She quickly became completely overwhelmed. She decided that right now was family time. The questions would have to be dealt with soon, but not right now. Right now she had a movie date with her two children in their brand new home, and honestly, she couldn’t be happier at the thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay. Life is hectic, but this chapter is a bit longer than the others so I hope that slightly makes up for it! 
> 
> As always please let me know what you think!


	16. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina learns the truth about Alex.

“What do you mean you aren’t sure you are going to tell her?” She tried hiding the judgment in her voice, but she couldn’t. Ruby just couldn’t believe her friend right now. 

“Well, she isn’t her mother..not really. I’ve raised Alex for the past year. Just because some other version of Regina was her mother doesn’t mean that this Regina gets to be her mother.”

Ruby just stared at Emma for a moment. “You’re kidding, right? What was your argument when you first came here? Remember trying to take Henry away from his  _ mother?! _ ”

You could see the shame in Emma’s face at that, but she was refusing to see it as the same. “That was different.”

“Is it though? You gave birth to him and automatically you came here claiming to be his mom when Regina got on your nerves. You raise Alex for one year and you don’t want to share her with Regina? Regina raised Henry for 10 years before you came along, yet here you still are.”

Emma looked down to the ground thinking of a response as she avoided Ruby’s penetrating gaze.

“You just don’t want to share Alex. Regina deserves to know that Alex is her daughter. Alex deserves an opportunity with her other mother - to not be terrified of her any time she sees Regina” the woman got off the couch and started pacing. She couldn’t stay still she had all of this anger and frustration with Emma that she needed to let out. 

“I just want to do what’s best for Alex.”

“Emma, not you don’t. Or else you would have already told Regina the truth about Alex. I know you still must be hurt by Regina, but you are keeping this from her to try to hurt her right back. Regina is Alex’s mother just as much as you are!”

There was a loud shattering of a glass dish breaking on the floor. Both women snap their necks towards the front door to find one shell shocked Regina standing just a few steps in front of the door. 

Regina’s eyes were wide as she took in the scene in front of her. Her arms were still held out as if the dish hadn’t slipped through her fingers. “Henry gave me his key. I thought you were still out with Alexandra, I just wanted to stop by and drop off some lasagna.”

Ruby needed to leave. She needed to leave as soon as possible. Part of her was happy that the truth was out there and Emma couldn’t deny Regina her parenting right, but she still felt bad for putting Emma on the spot like that. It wasn’t like she knew Regina would hear her...“Alright well, it’s getting late. I need to head back to the diner or else Granny will have my head.” She quickly nodded at Regina and squeezed past her out of the front door.

“--She’s mine?” She couldn’t believe it. The sweet little girl that was scared senseless of her was her daughter. A rush of relief ran through her. The thought of Emma being with another? It made her sick. She tried not thinking of the way her blood boiled iron hot at the thought of Emma being with another much less having a child with someone else. What she and Emma shared through Henry was special. She didn’t want Emma to have that with anyone else. Especially if this person could be a romantic interest for Emma. 

Emma let out a small smile, what else could she do? Alex already looked so much like Regina, she was surprised no one figured it out yet. Besides Ruby. But apparently the wolf could  _ smell  _ her daughter as the combination of the two women. “Yes, she’s yours.”

“She’s my daughter? She is your and mine? We made her?” She had to have hope. If another version of Emma and Regina could be together and have a child, surely they could get past this.

Emma simply nodded again and let Regina soak up this new information. 

The overwhelming joy she felt had clouded over her anger. She was on cloud nine finding out she had a daughter. Then it hit her. If it weren’t for Ruby would she know she had a daughter? “When were you going to tell me? Were you going to keep  _ me  _ from  _ my  _ daughter?”

Emma threw her hands up as she started to pace. “Okay fine! I was going to keep her from you. Are you happy now? What do you want from me?”

The vein in Regina’s forehead was very prominent. That’s how Emma knew she was in trouble. Regina stalked over to where the woman was pacing. She grabbed Emma’s arm forcing her to face the woman like an adult instead of hiding away like the coward she was being. “What do I want? How about an explanation! I want you to tell me why you thought it was okay to keep me from my daughter.” 

“You want the truth? Fine, I was being selfish. I wanted Alex all to myself.” Emma finally heard herself say out loud what she had been trying to deny for so long. With Alex being afraid of Regina it was so easy for Emma to exclude Regina from the picture. She knew it was wrong. She felt horrible for it but she also couldn’t help it. “I was jealous okay? You have a bond with Henry that I will never have with him.  _ You  _ are his mother. He considers  _ your  _ house his home.  _ You  _ raised him. I pretend it doesn’t sting when he leaves my house to ‘go home’. And I know I have no right to be jealous because I wanted him to end up with someone like you! I wanted this for him. So yeah, I wanted to keep Alex to myself so that I could have that. It’s stupid and it’s selfish and it doesn’t make sense, but you weren’t a saint when I first came here either!”

“You were trying to take him away from me!”

Emma ripped her hand from Regina’s grasp so she could continue her pacing. She couldn’t look the woman in the eye anymore. She couldn’t stare in those hazel eyes out of shame but also because if she looked at the woman any longer she would  _ have  _ to capture those luscious lips in a kiss. It was infuriating, even when she was angry with the woman she wanted nothing more than to pull her into her arms. With her gaze averted she was able to regain some of her thoughts. “No, I wasn’t. Okay, I was, but after when I told you I just wanted to co-parent, you still didn’t want me having to do anything with him.” She was grasping at straws but she didn’t enjoy Regina’s condescending tone.

“Do you hear yourself? You sound like you are talking about sharing toys, not children. Do grow up Miss Swan.” Regina shook her head. She was shaking with rage but she knew she had to calm down. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to continue shouting at each other. She grabbed Emma’s arm once again, but she lowered her voice as a peace offering. She conceded, “Fine, part of me didn’t want to share him.”

Seeing Regina calm took all of the rage out of Emma. She knew she didn’t have the right to be angry here. If anything Regina should be angry. Regina still clung to her on one arm, so with the other, she cupped Regina’s hand and gently led her to the couch. “Okay, I know it wasn’t fair of me, but I panicked. It took you some time, it took us some time to get to a good spot with Henry. I’m sure I would have figured it out eventually. I’m not saying it was right, but it was my reaction, once I actually thought it over I would have told you. Actually, when I was denying your right to Alex to Ruby the words felt completely wrong coming out of my mouth. I know you are an amazing mother to Henry and you will be an amazing mother to Alex too. I’m sorry, okay?”

Hearing the honest apology out of Emma stirred something in Regina. She had to give Emma some credit. She was defensive over Henry. She had her reasons, but the protective motherly instinct doesn’t really care for reason. She knew that Emma had to be going through the same thing. “We’ve both made mistakes. Can we try moving forward?”

Emma knew she should want a proper apology eventually, but she liked the sound of moving forward. She nodded, “I would like that.”

“Then I believe you owe me quite the explanation. I want the whole story, not just some condensed version you gave us a few days ago where you picked and chose which details you shared with us. I want to know all of it.”

Emma gulped in hesitation. She really didn’t want to go into details, but really she owed Regina this much. “Fine. It started like I told you a few days ago. Ruby found the spell, I planned my time in the cabin to enact the spell. Once I was in this new world, I wandered through the forest where I found Alex. But when I found Alex...she, she was hugging your dead body.”

Regina nodded her head at the information.  _ Of course, no version of me could have a happy ending.  _ “So that is why she is afraid of me? Because her Regina-her mother died?” Regina’s eyes shone with relief. She could handle the rest of the world thinking of her as the Evil Queen, but never her children. It killed her when Henry thought so little of her when he first brought Emma to Storybrooke. Her heart had ached thinking that Alex thought of her the way Henry used to- and that was before she found out that Alexandra was her daughter. 

“I didn’t find this out until later, but apparently you and I - or Queen Emma and Regina both died trying to protect Alex. They were on their way to a celebration in a neighboring kingdom when they got ambushed. The other Emma died fighting off the attackers so that Regina and Alex could escape. Well, at least that is what we think. Snow and Charming they pieced that theory together because they found Emma’s body by the carriage and they couldn’t find Regina or Alex. They tried asking Alex about it when she was back home at the castle, but she was too traumatized to talk about any of it.”

“So what else happened? What happened to me?” Part of her was relieved. Her death hadn’t been in vain. This Other Regina wasn’t as bad off as she expected. 

“She must have been wounded by an attacker by the carriage or maybe later on when she and Alex were fleeing into the woods. She died and Alex refused to leave her side.” 

“Is that when you found her?”   
“Actually it was a couple of days later. Apparently Alex has strong magic. She used it to shield herself away from the soldiers that Snow and Charming sent looking for the two of you.”

“The same magic that kept her alive for days alone in the woods. Of course, she has strong magic. I mean she’s our daughter, of course, she has strong magic. And if we made her then she is…” She didn’t dare say it. She wanted it to be true with all her heart, but she couldn’t say it. 

Emma understood exactly what Regina was thinking so she finished the sentence for her, “A product of true love.”

“Really? You and I? We really were True Loves in this other world?” She couldn’t help the hope that soared through her. If they were True Loves in another world, they had to be in this world too right? She knew it was true. She could feel it. Their story was too twisted, too intertwined to not be. Emma Swan was her True Love. She knew at that moment she would do whatever she had to get her happy ending. Emma Swan would be hers. She was sure of it. 

“Yeah. Apparently we both got past our crap and decided to be together. According to Snow and Charming, we were even more insufferable than they are.” Emma chucked at the thought. She never got to see Queen Emma and Regina together, but she could sense their strong love. Every time she looked at her daughter, she had proof of their love. Just staying in the castle where they used to live, their love still permeated the air even months after they were gone. 

“Snow and Charming, they were okay with our union?” Surely it couldn’t be this simple? She knew she had to fight to fix things with Emma, but that couldn’t be all, could it? 

“Of course, Snow actually gave you words of encouragement. Apparently you were smitten with me but too scared to take a leap of faith with Princess Emma. I, on the other hand, was completely head over heels with you. I mean she. When she first saw you she decided then that you were the one for her.”

Regina let out a snort, “Please, like Snow would ever approve of our union.”

“Well, she did. But their story was a bit different. Snow was actually groveling trying to get your forgiveness.”

“My forgiveness? Wasn’t I the Evil Queen? Always the villain but never the hero.”

“Regina stop.” The two were facing each other, so it was easy for Emma to reach over and grab Regina’s hands in her own. It was odd, it wasn’t what they did. But it also felt right. “You haven’t been _her_ in a long time. And how many times have you saved Storybrooke? Everyone always gives me all of the credit, but it is always you that is fixing my mistakes- saving me and Storybrooke at the same time. You are a hero.”

Regina sat there completely breathless. It was a rare occurrence, but Emma had rendered her speechless. She couldn't think of a response as all of her effort was spent ensuring that the tears in her eyes didn’t fall. Regina didn’t know what to think. She was mad at Emma, that much was obvious, but really when was she not? She also knew that she couldn’t hang on to her anger too much, not when she had royally messed up with Emma just before all of this. Her words. The sincerity in her eyes. They were giving her hope. Perhaps the journey in front of her wouldn't be as hard as she was expecting. The way that Emma looked at her, she knew without a doubt that they would be together one day. 

Emma saw the joy that her words brought Regina, and she wanted to see more of it. Of course, she was still mad at Regina. Well maybe not mad at her - but something along those lines. Seeing what the other world Emma and Regina had, it gave her hope. She had almost a year of space to calm down and look at the situation from another angle. She was in a world without Regina for almost a year, it taught her not to waste the time that she had with  _ her  _ Regina. She needed the other woman in her life. They had a long road ahead of them as they were both hurt. But maybe this was a start?

“You weren’t the Evil Queen there. At least not really. You know how I said their world was similar to ours but not exact? Their story took a drastic change than ours did. You never enacted the curse there.”

“What happened?” Regina’s eyes shone with hope. She felt bad for her actions as the Evil Queen, but she couldn’t regret them. Her actions led her to Henry and to Emma. But hearing a version of her that didn’t cast the curse? A version of her that was good? She needed to know more.    
“After your failed attempt of casting the curse, Snow and Charming had a plan to stop you. Rumple told them what you needed to cast the curse...and they wanted to take that away from you before you had the chance to use it for the spell…” Emma trailed off hoping that Regina understood what she was implying so she didn’t have to say it. Still thinking of what they did - or what they had planned made her sick to her stomach. Again the so-called ‘heroes’ doing a terrible thing without being labeled as villains.

“No!” She couldn’t believe what Emma was implying. Yes, she knew how horrible Snow could be, having been used as a pawn by Snow to kill her own mother, she wouldn’t put it beneath her. But going after her father? 

“They stormed your castle. Well, Charming and their soldiers did. Snow was at home very pregnant with me. Apparently she felt so guilty about the plan that she sent a bird to call off the whole thing. She couldn’t go through with it.”

Regina was too shocked to say anything so Emma decided to continue on. 

“But by the time that the bird delivered the message, the soldiers were already inside the castle. Charming was the one to find your father. He got the message not to harm your father. But it was too late. Apparently the whole thing was enough to give Henry a heart attack. Charming never touched him, but the chaos of it all scared him to death.”

It was then that Emma noticed the silent tears streaming down Regina’s face. “Hey if this is too much we can stop. Here..”

“No, I need to know. What. Else. Happened.”

“Well you didn’t have anything else to cast your curse with, so you couldn’t. Snow begged for your forgiveness as she was buried with guilt. She even showed up to your castle about to pop with me, to beg to you in person. You took her heart - and I guess something just clicked. You could have crushed it, but you didn’t. You said it didn’t feel worth it anymore. That so many people had died because of the feud between the two of you.”

Regina raised her eyebrow, she couldn’t believe the direction of where the story was going. “So I let her go?”

“You did. You left all of it behind, Snow, the castle, the throne. You left to travel the realms.” Emma smiled thinking of Queen Regina. She was proud of the woman though she never met her. 

That piece of information lifted Regina’s spirits. She needed to know more. “So, how did we meet?”   
“Ah, you’ll like this part. Apparently Emma had just enough of the royal stuff. She made a deal with Snow and Charming. They allowed her to travel the realms for a few years and when she returned she promised to be devoted to learning everything about ruling a kingdom. She needed to be free before taking the throne.”

Regina let out a small chuckle. That sounded like Emma all right. She never once thought that Emma would be like a typical princess. The woman was rebellious. It was one of the many reasons that she fell for the woman with an inclination for tacky leather jackets. 

“The one place Snow told me that I shouldn’t go? Neverland. Apparently there were rumors that you had gone to Neverland that twenty or so years ago. While you didn’t kill Snow and I when you had the chance, apparently Snow was still worried about me being near you. Not that she ever said so. She just said to stay away from Neverland.”

“So that was the first place you went?” Regina’s eyes shone with mirth as she thought of young rebellious Emma. So much like the woman who had the nerve to attack her apple tree. The woman that wasn’t afraid to go up against the Evil Queen, even if she hadn’t known it at the time. 

Emma smiled as she saw Regina’s face. She knew they were both thinking of the same memory. “Exactly. Apparently we met and the rest was history. I brought you back with me. You had an idea of who I was, but it wasn’t confirmed until we got back to the kingdom. I was ready to propose and make you my queen, while you had other ideas.”

“Snow was so pleased to have you in the castle. She told me that when she first saw you, that you looked like Regina.  _ Her  _ Regina. The one that saved her from that horse. She knew then that you were completely changed. Having you at the castle made her so happy. It gave her more opportunities to try to grovel for your forgiveness. Which you did grant her. Apparently that time apart did you good. Anyways she saw the way you looked at me. She told you it was the same way that she looked at Charming, that Charming look at her, and how I looked at you. She was the one told you to let go of your worries and give us a real chance.”   
Emma wiggled her eyebrows in an over-the-top flirty manner, “I wooed you with my charms of course. They got married, became Queens, and had Alex.”

“Their time together was so short...” A seed of doubt was planted in her brain begging to take over her thoughts. She had just prepared herself to fight for the woman in front of her, but hearing of their counterpart’s demise - well it gave her pause.    
“But they were happy. Snow and Charming said they never saw two people more in love, not even themselves.”

Regina nodded to herself, reassuring herself that they were happy. It didn’t mean that she and Emma had to meet the same fate. They could be happy. No, they  _ would  _ be happy. She was going to make sure of it. But she had something else to take care of first. “So when can I see my daughter?” 


	17. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma has an honest conversation with Alex about who Regina is.

Emma was feeling confident yet hesitant about the conversation she was about to have. Regina had left the house a few minutes ago, with a promise from the blonde that she could meet her daughter soon. Emma just needed to talk to Alex and get everything out in the open. 

The moment her daughter walked through the door, she knew it was time. Henry had just dropped off his little sister at home. Gave a quick greeting to his mother and set off to his other home. 

As young Alex lingered in the living room deciding what to do next, Emma decided it was now or never. 

“Little Swan?” 

Alex turned her head. “Yes Mommy?” 

“Come here baby, we need to have a talk.” She motioned to her lap so that her daughter could take a seat. 

Alex hesitantly made her way to where her mother was sitting. She tried racking her brain about what this could be about, but she couldn’t remember doing anything wrong. Did she forget to put her toys away before leaving with Henry? She always got so excited when she saw him, so it was possible. “Did I do something wrong?” 

As Alex wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and cuddled into her chest, Emma was quick to correct her daughter. “No! Never my love. I want to talk about Momma.”

The only reply she received from Alex was the lack of one. The young girl burrowed her face further into Emma’s chest to avoid answering. “Alex?”

The response mumbled and sounded awfully shakey. She could just make out her daughter’s voice. “I don’t want to! I don’t want to hurt anymore. When I think of Momma it hurts.”

It felt like a punch to the gut. She did this. Her daughter needed her now more than ever, and Emma had let her down. Alex needed someone to help her through these tough times. To know that loving someone you lost is painful but so vital to keep them in your heart. 

She gently leaned back so that she could cup her daughter's face. She needed to have eye contact with her to make sure the message got across clearly. “Alex, I haven’t been fair to you. Your Grandparents and I told you back at the castle that you can always talk about her to us. That your Momma lives on in our hearts. But you haven’t really had the chance have you?”

Alex didn’t know how to respond to that. She let a few tears fall before she buried herself into her mother’s chest again. 

Emma rocked her daughter gently back and forth. “I’m sorry my Little Swan. That is on me. Thinking of your Momma shouldn’t hurt. Yes it hurts that she is gone. But what about the other stuff? The good stuff?”

Alex almost hit her mother in the face with how quickly she looked up. The young girl looked up at her with red rimmed eyes and a blinding smile. “Like the cuddles Momma would always give me? She gave the bestest cuddles!” How Alex had missed those cuddles. She still loves cuddling her Mommy, but it wasn’t the same. In her Momma’s arms she felt like she was completely safe. Nothing else in the world existed besides them.

“Exactly my love. We should always remember your Momma. What else do you remember about her?”

“The look she would give you Mommy. Everytime you were in trouble, she would give you the look! Like this, see!” Alex’s smile quickly vanished and was replaced with a slight scowl. Her eyebrow was raised like she couldn’t believe that her Mommy did something so ridiculous. The look only lasted a few seconds before Alex fell into a burst of laughter. Once she stopped she remembered an important piece of information she was more than eager to share. “But never me, Mommy! Even when I got in trouble Momma always wanted to smile. She tried hiding it, but she was always smiling!”

Emma smirked at that. She could picture Regina now trying to be upset with this adorable face. She imagined that it would be the same exact struggle that Regina faced with Henry when he was younger. “Of course! Who could ever be mad at the princess?”

Alex smiled some more as she nuzzled her way back into Emma’s chest. In lieu of tears, this time she had a fond smile on her face as she thought more about her other mother. 

“Your Momma was a special person. You know she loved you so much? You were her everything.”

“You too Mommy!” 

She was about to object but realized that the young girl meant Queen Emma. The woman who sacrificed her life to save her wife and daughter. The woman she never met, yet lives her life in memory of. Every day she lives in hopes that she is making Queen Emma proud. She knows now that she had let the other woman and her daughter down, but she would be better. This was the first step. The next would be to repair things with Regina, but all in good time. Baby steps Swan, baby steps. 

She brushed a lock of hair behind Alex’s ear. “Yes, my Little Swan. But nothing compared to you. You are everything Alex. Both to me and your Momma. Alex remember what your Grandparents and I talked to you about?”

The young girl stared blankly at her mother. “Umm”

Emma smiled gently at the young girl. She saw so much of herself in that little face. Her scrunched up nose and eyes deep in thought perfectly mirrored her own confused face. “How I’m your Mommy but-”

Before she could even think about finishing the sentence Alex cut her off. “How you are Mommy but I didn’t meet you until you saved me! My other Mommy had to go away saving me from the bad guys…” 

It fascinated Emma how quickly Alex could resemble her mothers. Emma completely saw herself in her daughter’s face, but now? Now Alex was all Regina. The confident and triumphant smirk on her face clearly belonged to her other mother. 

“Yes Little Swan. You know that your Mommy loved you very much too. She couldn’t be here with you today but she trusted me with her most prized possession?”

Like a little puppy Alex tilted her head in confusion. “What’s that Mommy?”

She shook her head as Alex was clearly back to reminding her of herself. In moments like this she could imagine Queen Regina calling her wife an adorable idiot. Not that Emma ever thought she would refer to her daughter as an idiot. Perhaps she would go along the lines of her idiotic Charming genes. Or something to that extent. She smiled just thinking about it now. But she wasn’t thinking about the Queens. She was thinking about something a little closer to home. 

“You!! You silly girl.” She gently stood up still carrying her daughter in her arms. She hoisted Alex above her head and twirrled her around.   
As though she was handling precious cargo - for she was - she gently placed Alex on the edge of the couch. Emma knelt down so that they could maintain eye contact. With great sincerity, she looked at her daughter, “your Mommy and your Momma lost their lives so that they could save yours.”

“Yeah. I miss them both everyday. Sometimes I get really sad when I think about Mommy and Momma.” Alex glanced at her mother’s face and misread her look of sadness. “But I have you Mommy!”

“Oh Alex. Never feel bad about missing your moms. They gave birth to you, they raised you. They made you into the wonderful little princess that you are today. You know that I am never trying to replace your Mommy right? It is okay to miss her.”

At this Emma felt a bit guilty. Was it wrong of her to allow Alex to call her Mommy? She really tried emphasizing to Alex that she wasn’t trying to take her place. As much as she loved Alex and needed to be with her, would she have been better off staying in the Enchanted Forest? Surely if the young girl lived with her grandparents she wouldn’t have all of this confusion?

“But you are my Mommy. She had to leave me, but she left me you. I have multiple mommies, it is okay!”

And with that Emma’s fears were put to ease. She had no idea how the young girl in front of her could be so resilient and filled with love. At such a young age she has already gone through so much loss, yet she is still smiling and filled with life. But of course Alex was strong, for it was clear she received her strength from her mothers.

Emma shook her head at the insanity that was her life. Thankfully Alex was taking this all very well. It would do her good if she was going to grow up in Storybrooke. Only here would people have such messed up and normal lives. 

“That you do my Little Swan. That woman that was here earlier, she would love to meet you.”

“Momma? Was that Momma? She looked just like her.. But my Momma left me.”

She grasped Alex’s hand in her own, and silently pleaded with her to listen intently. “She didn’t leave you Alex. At least she didn’t want to. You know how your Mommy lost her life because she wanted to protect you so much? Your Momma did everything she could to protect you too.”

“She had to leave me like Mommy?”

“Exactly Little Swan. She loved you so much, she did everything she could to protect you.”

“So did she leave me another Momma like Mommy did? Was that her? Was that my other Momma?”

“She can be if you want her to be.” Emma took a moment to clear a few stray tears from her face. Emma took the small hands in front of her and placed gentle kisses on them both. “I know she would love to meet you. Would you like to see her, baby?”

Emma took in her daughter’s unsure face. Perhaps this was all too much too soon. She should have done more to explain this to Alex before they got to Storybrooke. She didn’t want to think about it too much then. Seeing it now, it was clear how selfish she was being. She left her daughter confused and scared because she selfishly wanted to keep Alex all to herself. This was her fault.

Emma took the hesitation as a no. At least a no for now. “You don’t have to meet her right now if you don’t want to. Maybe you want to think this all over?”

Alex shook her head at this. “No, Mommy. I want to see her. I want to meet Momma.”

That look in her eyes? That was all Regina right now. Alex had that same look of determination that Regina often gets when she is on a warpath. Yet perhaps Alex’s look was a bit more gentle as she had an excited glee behind her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, one, I am incredibly sorry for taking this long to update. Life got hectic and then I was hit with some serious writer's block. So if anyone is still here, I am truly sorry to keep you waiting like this.
> 
> Two, that being said, I still have writer's block. Please let me know where you want me to go with this story. I'm out of ideas right now and would really appreciate your input and feedback. I want to complete this story sometime in the near future, so please send me some ideas!


	18. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina gets to properly meet Alex

As she made her way up to the front door she couldn’t help the excitement running through her veins. She felt butterflies in the lower pit of her stomach. Regina shook her head as though the action would rid herself of her nerves as well. She was a queen. She had conquered kingdoms and ruled with an iron fist. Yet she didn’t feel any of that confidence she swam in from her ruling days. Now she was a mother about to properly meet her daughter for the first time and she could not be any more nervous than she was now. 

She raised a fist and gently knocked on the door. She shook her head. This timidness was not her. She was Regina Mills dammit. She knocked on the door again, this time a bit too aggressive as she overcorrected her timid knock. 

Within a few seconds, the door in front of her swung wide open, as if someone had been anxiously waiting for her arrival. She politely greeted the smiling blonde in front of her, but her breath was taken away at the image she spotted just beyond Emma’s shoulder. She spotted her daughter hesitantly viewing her from the living room with a look of curiosity but also overwhelming caution. 

With every step she made towards the living room she could feel her heart ready to jump out of her chest. This extreme nervousness was not familiar to the queen. In fact, this foreign feeling only added to her nerves. 

While the feeling in her stomach had her feeling a bit nauseous, the smile on her face was completely genuine. 

Regina knelt down trying to level herself with the young brunette in front of her. With a smile so sincere it could be seen in her eyes, she greeted her daughter, “hello Alexandra, it is so nice to properly meet you.”

The young girl clung to her mother’s hand. With a nervous excitement, she regarded her other mother, “hi.”

Sensing her daughter’s hesitation, she thought it would be wise to permission first. She wanted to run to her child and sweep her up into her arms, but right now all she could think about was Alexandra’s emotional wellbeing. With a shy voice that certainly did not belong to an Evil Queen, she asked what her heart so achingly desired, “sweetheart, would it be okay if I gave you a hug?”

Before Regina could understand what was happening much less brace herself for impact, her young daughter launched herself into her mother’s arms. The force of the blow almost knocked the duo over, had it not been for Henry’s sturdy hand on the back of her shoulders. 

Though her voice was muffled through the tears streaming down her face and by the sweet scent of her daughter’s hair, Regina was able to comfort the girl who clung to her for dear life. She whispered sweet words into her daughter’s ears as if she had done so all of her life, “oh my beautiful girl, I love you so much.”

“Momma?”

Regina moved her head away from Alexandra’s so that she could create eye contact. She needed her daughter to see the sincerity in her words. At this moment, nothing else mattered besides ensuring that Alexandra understood that she was loved. That she was wanted. Regina needed to give her daughter all of the reassurances she once craved though she never received from Cora. That love she still craved from her mother to this day. She wanted- no she needed Alexandra to know how loved she was. With all of the love she could muster, she responded, “if you want me to be, I would be honored to be your Momma.”

“You’re not going to leave me?”

“Oh darling, neither of your mothers wanted to leave you. They did everything to protect you because they love you so much. If you want me to, I promise to love you and protect you just like your mother did.”

“Momma I missed you!” Regina’s heart broke at that whispered declaration. She could feel her daughter shaking in her arms, she pulled her into the hug even tighter. She felt a twinge of guilt deep in her gut. This hug belonged to the other Regina. This beautiful girl in front of her was not born of her womb, rather of Queen Regina’s. It didn’t make her love the girl any less, of course not. Henry wasn’t hers biologically, but he was her son in every sense. The same applied to young Alexandra. Regina simply felt guilty that the deceased Queen was not able to be here with her daughter today. 

Yet she did feel something else that was more common to her during her Evil Queen days. She felt happy at someone else’s misery. She dare not acknowledge the feeling, but on a deep deep down level, she was somewhat glad that her other self perished. She wouldn’t have the sweet angel in her arms now if she had not. The feeling only crossed her mind so fleetingly, she let it go giving it no notice. She was no longer that person, yet she was only human. 

=========================================================  
The meeting and the dinner that soon followed could not have gone better. Emma was pleased to see that Regina and Alex got along so well. After the girl’s initial hesitation faded away, the young daughter could not be separated from her brunette mother. She hated to admit how conflicted she felt about all of this. On the one hand she was elated that her daughter now had her other mother. She had even more love in her life. 

Yet the pang in her chest reminded her that she wasn’t so happy about the situation. Emma knew that it shouldn’t hurt seeing her daughter with her other mother. Alex could love both of her parents, the young girl demonstrated very early on just how much love her heart could hold. Still, there was a pain in her chest when she witnessed the tight hugs or the multiple declarations of love. She really couldn’t understand what it was that she was feeling. Perhaps this is how Regina felt watching her with Henry in her early Storybrooke days?

Whatever these negative feelings were, Emma made sure to hide them deep down. She would not be the one to cause trouble. Her daughter deserved a safe and loving household without Emma’s resentment, and that is what she would get. She just hoped in time she would stop feeling like this. She again wondered too if this is how Regina felt when she started allowing her more and more into Henry’s life?

Emma could see in Regina’s eyes that she was hesitant to leave her daughter just yet. She couldn’t blame her. She clung to Alex every opportunity she could back in the Enchanted Forest. 

Her solution to give Regina more time with Alex led them to their current predicament. To extend their time together, Emma suggested a short walk to Mifflin Street. Now two mothers and two children awkwardly lingered outside of the gate of 108. None of them wanted to say goodbye nor did they know how to. 

Eventually, it was Henry who spoke first, “I have to go inside and get started on my homework.” He gave hugs to his mother and his sister and excused himself from the awkward gathering. 

Regina so wished that she could invite the duo inside. She had just met her daughter and she didn’t want to leave her. They had plenty of guest bedrooms that they could occupy. It wasn’t very practical, but would it be too pushy to ask? 

She decided to ignore her every desire and let the pair go. At least for now. She would fight for them. Without a doubt, she would fight for her family, but she couldn’t come on too strong at once. Her current relationship with Emma was in shambles, and like hell would she cause its further destruction. She would let the most important women in her life go today, with the promise that she would receive their tomorrows. 

With some experienced maneuvering, Regina knelt down in her heels, “well, this is my stop. I love you, Alexandra, I had a great time today. I shall see you tomorrow?”

Alex hugged her mother, but she couldn’t help asking a question as soon as they parted. Glancing between her two mothers, “we aren’t staying here?” she questioned. 

“We don’t live here sweetheart, Henry and Regina do.” 

“But Henry lives with us?”

“He lives in both houses. Sometimes he spends time with us and sometimes he spends time with Regina here.”

“Why don’t we all live together?” She understood that they had two houses, in her young mind she figured that they spent time between both locations. It hadn’t occurred to Alexandra that her family might be divided. The thought never even crossed her mind.

“Honey, we might be you like your mothers, but we aren’t exactly like them. They were queens and we are not. I’m Mayor and your Mommy is the Sheriff.”

“Uh Huh..” Alex didn’t understand what they were trying to tell her. Of course, they had different jobs. Her other mothers were queens but they weren’t much different than her mothers here in Storybrooke. They were her mothers, surely they would love each other in any world! Well, at least that is what they had always told her. 

“Your mothers were married, they were in a relationship. Your Mommy and I are not. We don’t live together, we have separate houses.” As the words came out of her mouth, they stabbed at Regina’s heart one by one. She would give anything to sweep the pair into the mansion and never have them leave. As she told her daughter that she was not dating nor living with her other mother, she couldn’t help but indulge in a brief fantasy. The four of them together at home, the once lonely mansion would be replaced with a collection of laughter and love.

Alexandra looked back and forth at her parents, “why aren’t you married? You love each other.” It wasn’t so much of a question rather more of a silent demand. These two clearly needed her help. If they needed her to show them, well it would be her mission to get her mothers together. 

“Darling we both love you and Henry. But things are complicated..” Regina trailed off not sure how else to respond. We aren’t together because I was an idiot and smashed your Mommy’s heart into pieces. Somehow that didn’t seem like an appropriate response. We aren’t together because I ruined my own chance at a happy ending. Maybe it was better to not say anything...

Alexandra narrowed her eyes and challenged her mothers, “if Henry stays here sometimes I want to too!” The young girl was just short of stomping her foot in addition to her demand. She just got her mothers back and finally met her brother, she wanted them all together. It wasn’t fair that they were keeping her family apart. 

“Of course”  
“Alex, that is something we need to discuss.”

Both women answered at the same time. Alexandra looked between both mothers trying to figure out what the actual response was. Would she stay here or not? 

“What your mother is trying to say is that you don’t have any of your stuff here yet sweety. You can stay here in the future, we just have to prepare everything for you my darling.”

It came to both women’s surprise that Alexandra seemed to accept that answer. While they had only known her to be well mannered, they were a bit shocked that she didn’t end up throwing a tantrum, as it surely seemed she was heading in that direction. It was only Alex that understood why she responded the way that she did. She wouldn’t cause any trouble for now. She really had to speak with her brother. Their mothers just needed to be together, there could be no other way. Alex had the determination now she just needed Henry to provide her with an actual plan.

“Alexandra, I need to talk to your mother for a moment.”

Before the girl had a chance to reply Regina stepped a few feet away and had dragged Emma along with her. 

In a hushed tone she questioned the blonde before her, “do you have a problem with my daughter staying with me?” While she was whispering, it was oddly reminiscent of the shouting matches that the duo often found themselves in when they first met. Perhaps it was that same fiery tone that the brunette used. The tone she used when she felt like her relationship with her child was being threatened. Emma may hold Regina’s heart, but no one is ever allowed to come between her and her children. 

“No, I didn’t say that! I was just saying that it is something we need to discuss.” Emma urged Regina to see the sincerity of the statement in her eyes. She saw that Regina raised her walls up at that, she was quickly activating protective mother mode. Emma had enough experience with that side of Regina to last a lifetime. She didn’t want to start another episode. 

Truly Emma had no real problem with Alex spending time with Regina. That, of course, was inevitable. The real issues that she wasn’t so keen to share were of scheduling and visitation. Who would have Alex and for how long? If Emma had her way, she would have Alex with her forever. 

“But you do know that she is my daughter and she will be staying with me, yes?

Emma placed her hand gently onto Regina’s arm, “it’s late and we’ve made great progress today, let’s not push it by talking about schedules right now. We will come up with something later. I really should be getting Alex home now.” She had truly enjoyed their day together. It reminded her of the days back before her relationship with Regina was ruined. They made good progress today and she didn’t want to see that go down the drain. For the duo, it always seemed that for every step they made forward, they were set two steps back as well. 

“Alex, say bye to Regina.”

“Bye, Momma!”

“Goodbye, my sweet girl. I shall see you tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still getting used to writing creatively, so I would appreciate constructive feedback. Is there anything about my writing that you like/don't like? Something you wished I did or didn't do? Feedback helps me tremendously, so if you are willing to leave a comment, I would really appreciate it. Anyways, thank you all for reading!


	19. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One step forward and two steps back.

Emma sat herself in the front patio of Granny’s. It was such a nice day, she decided she would sit out here and enjoy the sun. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go into the establishment and continue being bombarded with questions about her trip. Of course not. 

For a moment she wondered if any of the wait staff would even notice her out here. Part of her thought she should get up and go order inside, but that would require getting up… and that wasn’t happening.

When she heard the door open she was about to start asking Ruby for her usual. It was a different brunette, but she wasn’t disappointed. 

“Oh Regina, you’re here. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“I was actually going to take this back to my office, but I guess I could spare you a moment.” She shot the blonde woman a wink. She wasn’t sure if they were back to their joking ways, but she could try, couldn’t she? 

“Why thank you, your majesty.” Emma half mockingly bowed/half motioned to the empty seat in front of her. 

Emma didn’t know how to start the conversation, so she just dove right in, “So about the custody arrangement, I was thinking that we could have the same schedule we have for Henry.”

“You want Alexandra with me during the week?” Regina narrowed her eyes in disbelief. She would love that time with her daughter, but she was curious and cautious as to why Emma would offer her so much time with Alexandra. 

“What? No!” Emma scrunched her face both from confusion and insult. How could Regina possibly think she would propose that? Emma scoffed, “She would be at home for the week and spend the weekends with you.”

“At home?” The sound of that left a sour taste in her mouth. It seemed that Emma was treating her less like a co-parent and more like a ‘cool’ aunt. Regina narrowed her eyes, challenging Emma to answer correctly, “Why wouldn’t Alexandra consider the mansion as home?”

“Oh, she will. Just my place, you know where she lives, will be her home. You know how Henry calls your place ‘home’, this will be home for Alex.”

“You can’t be serious?”

Emma stared back at her completely unwavering. Regina couldn’t be sure, but it looked like she had a faint smirk?

“Miss Swan do grow up. Just because you are harboring some sort of deep resentment from missed time with Henry, doesn’t mean you get to diminish my time with my daughter.”

“That’s not- Fine! What do you suggest?” Emma was about to argue otherwise, but from the expression on Regina’s face, she could tell the other woman could see right through her. Deep down she knew her reasoning was not sound and that she was letting her emotions get the best of her, but she was hurt. Pain was like driving in a storm; you tell yourself that it is all right, but really you are just praying you make it out okay. 

“How about a compromise? A week with me, a week with you.”

“No way!” Emma leapt out of her chair to lean over the table. With her arms extended onto the table she was in a position similar to towering over the other woman. She shook her head. “She needs stability. She shouldn’t be switching homes like that.”

“What is the real issue here?” Regina narrowed her eyes daring the other woman to say what was really on her mind. “Either way, she is switching between houses.”

Emma deflated for a moment as she sat back in her chair. She allowed the sincerity behind her words be heard as she calmly explained, “Alex traveled to a whole new world. She just got used to her new home, now you just want to make her live half the time at a new place?” 

Unbeknownst to Regina, Emma quickly lost herself in her thoughts. She was back to being that wide-eyed young girl who the system repeatedly failed. The young blonde who never understood why no one ever wanted her; Why she was forced into a new home every time she finally started to feel comfortable in one place. The system destroyed her. It knocked her down until she was nothing, forcing her to become the strong woman that she was today. She couldn’t, no she wouldn’t allow Alex to experience even a fraction of what young Emma had endured.

“Children take easily to changes like this. She got used to your place, certainly, she will see the mansion as home quickly enough.”

The words made her think about what her heart had so deeply desired when she was young. A home. A real home. “Kids need stability. All this change at once isn’t healthy.”

“Oh because you know so much about children and healthy childhoods?!” Regina let out a small scoff. Between the two of them, Regina was the experienced mother. Where did Emma get the nerve to tell her how to parent her daughter?

It took the second of hesitation from the blonde before her to realize what her words really meant. She not only insulted the woman’s parenting ability, but she had also made a jab at her troubled childhood. She certainly did not mean the comment that way, but from the quick appearance of devastation in Emma’s eyes, it was clear the comment was taken in the worst way possible. 

“Really?” Emma quickly jumped up at hearing Regina’s words. Gone was their civil conversation. They were back to their new normal, back to what she had literally gone to another world to escape.

Regina’s eyes went wide. That look on Emma’s face. It was a look she had seen from her just a few months ago when Regina began this entire mess. The look she swore she would never be the cause of again. “Miss Swan, I apologize. I didn’t mean for that to come out like that.”

From the quiet whisper of the blonde, Regina could tell that these words were not for her, yet she heard them nonetheless, “Wow. I can’t believe that I honestly thought this would be any different.” I’m an idiot. I really thought things could change. Emma let out a bitter chuckle. She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. “I’m barely back and we are back to you throwing insults as me whenever you please.”

“Emma-”

“Save it, Regina.” She held her hand up, halting any further words from coming out of the woman across from her. She couldn’t be sure if the intended words were going to be further insults or a sincere apology. She wasn’t sure she could handle either. “We both know you meant it. I just don’t want so much change for Alex all at once. She is used to living with me at home. Now you want her to spend half her time with you at the mansion. Don’t you think that all of this is too much?”

Regina swallowed the apology she so deeply wanted to utter. She would just have to add it onto the long list of apologies she owed the other woman. She stood up and gently placed her hand onto Emma’s arm, pleading with her to see the sincerity in her eyes.“Well if you are concerned about visitation, well you should move into the mansion too.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, it makes perfect sense actually. This way the children won’t have to move at all. They will have both parents under the same roof, they wouldn’t need to shuffle around.”

“Why would we move to my place?”

“It is the logical choice here Emma. Henry grew up here, his memories are here. Let’s face it the mansion can offer our children anything they could want.”

“And I cant? My house is suddenly too inferior for them? My place is already Alex’s home!”

“No, Emma, that isn’t what I meant at all. I am just saying that you moving in with us would be the simplest solution.” Regina really didn’t know how to proceed. She thought she was de-escalating the situation when offering a solution to their problem. The last thing she wanted to do was to cause more trouble between the pair, but it seemed she was doing just that.

“Just like that? You don’t care about what I would want? You don’t even try to make my house work anymore?”

“I am just being logical. Miss Swan, I don’t understand why you are getting so upset.”

“Seriously? Well, try this on for size. I haven’t even been inside the mansion since...well you know. I have not gotten a single apology. In fact, you haven’t even mentioned it. And now? Now you want me to move into the mansion like everything between us okay?”

“Emma that was not my intention…”

“You know what Regina, save it. I am too upset to talk to you now.” Emma started to walk away from their table in front of Granny’s. It turns out she lost her appetite. 

“Emma-”

She turned back at the other woman from the sidewalk, “Regina, please. Just stop. I don’t want to say something that I won’t be able to take back.” Both women paused at this. She could see that Regina was unsure if that was supposed to be an attack or not. “I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t trying to make a cheap shot. Honestly, I just need to go.”

With every step she took she told herself that it wasn’t running. She was being a mature adult here. Emma really didn’t want to add any further harm to their relationship. Truthfully she wasn’t sure what would happen between the two of them, but she would do her best to try to salvage whatever they had left. She didn't know what she wanted but those deep thoughts could wait until later. She had a long first day back at work ahead of her, one that she would start without her traditional coffee and bearclaw, just great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay, I really did not mean to take this long. Just know that the next chapter is almost finished. I need your comments to keep me on track with my writing :)


	20. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina overhears an important conversation.

Emma was a woman with a mission. Alex was spending the day getting reacquainted with her grandparents - or rather she was getting to know Storybrooke’s version of the couple better. Henry was with Regina and today just so happened to be her day off. This left Emma free from any and all responsibilities. And her number one priority right now? A Bearclaw and hot cocoa with cinnamon on top. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of her favorite treats that she had gone months without. 

As Emma spotted Henry lingering with a friend outside of Granny’s she hesitated. Not that she didn’t want to see her son, no, she worried that where her son would be it was likely that his mother was too. 

“Hey Ma, how’s it going?”

“Hey, kid. Just stopping by for my hot cocoa fix. Wanna join me?”

“Thanks, but Mom and I just ate. I was just heading over to my friend’s house to hang out. I’ll see you later?”

“Of course. Have fun!” 

This conversation left Emma smiling for two reasons. One, she was happy that Henry was being so sociable. She dreamed about having friends and hanging out with them when she was younger. He was living the normal life she had always wanted for him. Two was that Henry confirmed that Regina had already been at Granny’s, giving Emma the clear light that she wouldn’t have to run into the other woman. She figured the other woman had left a few minutes prior before Henry began talking with his friend. 

With a sigh of relief, Emma opened the door to Granny’s. 

As soon as Ruby spotted her friend, she started to get her usual order ready. With cocoa and Bearclaw in hand, she informed Granny that she was going on break. Granted Granny wasn’t too happy about her going on her impromptu break, but she needed to talk to Emma. It was clear her friend needed to vent. 

“Sheriff, right over here.” With her hands full, Ruby motioned with her head where she wanted the pair to sit. It wasn’t their usual spot, but the back of the diner provided more privacy that she knew the blonde needed. 

“So? Tell me everything!” Ruby felt a bit out of the loop. Since she accidentally let Alex’s parentage slip, she hadn’t had an update on her friend’s life. Yet from the look on Emma’s face it was clear that there were more developments in the saga of her friend’s life. 

Before Emma opened her mouth to say anything, she glanced around the diner thoroughly analyzing its occupants. If there was one thing that she had not adjusted to in Storybrooke, it was that personal matters spread threw town like wildfire. She has always been a private person, never one to share her own business and less so to inquire about anyone else’s. She never understood how nosy people could be. The situation was already delicate enough, she didn’t want anyone hearing anything that they shouldn’t.

Ruby realized that her friend wasn’t completely with her at the moment. She placed her hand over Emma’s to reclaim her attention. “Hey, she isn’t here. She and Henry just left actually. Plus we are all the way back here. We’re fine.”

Emma nodded her understanding to Ruby. She would be forever grateful that she had a friend who understood her and what she needed so well. She hadn’t needed to say a single word and yet Ruby understood perfectly what was on her mind. 

Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to tell Ruby everything. 

“Seriously?” Ruby realized that her voice was a bit too loud as she saw she had gained the attention of other diner occupants. She uttered a quick apology and quickly turned back to Emma. Much quieter this time she continued, “Seriously? She asked you to move into the mansion after everything that has happened?”

Emma opened her mouth to answer but soon realized that Ruby was not finished. 

“Did she even say anything about your house? Doesn’t she understand that this is the first freaking home you have ever had, and she wants you to throw it away after a month of living there?” 

“I didn’t talk about that with her. You know it is hard to open up about my childhood with anyone. Especially with how she used my words against me, I am not looking to give her any more ammo.” She took a moment to recompose herself. Out of everything that Regina said and did, calling her out on her childhood had hurt the most. As a kid, she wanted nothing more for someone to love her. Hell, she still had doubts about people genuinely loving her. Especially with how flaky her parents have been since the curse broke, she at times felt that she didn’t have their unconditional love. But when those fears kicked in, she reminds herself that she loves her children completely and that they love her back. She also thinks about the woman sitting across from her. With everything that Ruby has done for her, she knows that the brunette loves her.

Thinking about her friendship with the woman in front of her got her back on track. She appreciated how Ruby didn’t say anything about her pause, that she granted the woman time to collect her thoughts. She would always be amazed by how Ruby just got her.

“I kind of talked around it though. I think I saw it click in her eyes when she was trying to convince me that Alex would easily adjust yet another move. I let her know that for a kid it isn’t that simple. I saw something flash in her eyes, I’m just not sure what it was.”

“So Em, how do you feel about her? About everything?”

“Regina...I don’t even know where to begin.”

Unbeknownst to the duo swept up in conversation, the subject of their talk stood a few feet away. She was exiting the bathroom having finished her breakfast with Henry. She was just about to use the door in the back of the diner to make her exit. It wasn’t until she heard Emma call her name that she paused. 

There were butterflies in her stomach at hearing her name uttered from the blonde’s lips. She thought perhaps it would lead to an invitation of sorts. What she didn’t immediately realize is that she was not being spoken to rather she was being spoken of. 

Her heart tensed at the thought of Emma talking about them to Ruby. The way Emma had said her name, it was not filled with reverence as a lovesick teenager gossiped to their friend. No, this was not the sharing of good news at all. Her mind told her to leave, her gut told her to flee, yet her heart ordered her feet to stay put. She knew she shouldn’t, but she just  _ had _ to hear what Emma was going to say. 

“Honestly Ruby, I don’t know what to feel about Regina anymore. I mean I wanted to be done with her, she is the freaking reason why I went to a whole other world. Yet the damn spell only showed me how great it could be to have her in my life. But now that we are back here, I can only think about…well, you know. When I came back I had it in my mind that I would repair our friendship at the very least.” She paused for a moment and thought about their latest interaction right in front of the diner. It hadn’t gone well at all. It was back to the two lashing out at each other. 

“The other Emma and Regina shared True Love so strong that they created Alex. Why is it so difficult for us?” If they were truly meant to be, wouldn’t this all have been at least a little bit easier? They overcame  _ multiple _ curses, wasn’t that enough trial already? Couldn’t they skip to the Happily Ever After part?

“If she apologized, would you want her back?”

“It’s not even taking her back. We were never together. I wanted to be and she literally used everything I shared with her in confidence to throw it right back at me.” Shre refused to let the tears forming in her eyes fall. She shed enough tears over that day, she would be damned if she shed any more.

“I love her or at least I thought I loved her, but how can I be with someone who purposely hurt me? What does it say about me? What kind of example am I sending to my kids? We aren’t even together and this all feels impossible. I don’t know. Maybe its a sign that we aren’t meant to be together.”

“What about the Queens?” Somewhere deep inside Ruby still held hope for the couple. She was extremely upset with Regina, but part of her knew that she was also perfect for Emma. While her brain thought that these two flames together would only cause disaster, the romantic in her still thought that someway somehow the couple could make it work. 

“Maybe they were just lucky. Maybe they just had different circumstances. Before all of this mess, I would have said hell yeah we could make it work. But now, I’m not sure about anything.”

“Well, the good thing is that you don’t have to make any rash decisions. Just play it day by day. If you decide you want to be friends with her, then fine. If you want to pursue something more with her, you better make sure she grovels for your forgiveness. And if you just want to be civil with her as a co-parent, that is fine too. No one is saying you have to make any decisions now.”

“You really think that it could get so bad that I’m not even her friend anymore?”

“Honestly? I am surprised you still consider a friend. Do you? If she hurts you any more than she already has, than yeah, for your sake I think you should separate from her as much as you can. Which is difficult as she is the mother of your kids, but you know.”

“Even when she freaking tried to poison me with the turnover, I never expected things to get this bad. I never thought I would give up on Regina Mills.”

“Ems, no one is saying you have to. While as your friend, a part of me is rooting that you never talk to her again for how she treated you. I also know that you two have a special connection. I know how much she means to you. But now you have another munchkin you need to look out for.”

“Regina would never hurt her kids.” Emma was questioning everything that she knew about the mayor, but one thing that could never be questioned was her love for her children.

“No, she wouldn’t. That’s not what I meant. She would never hurt them, but she has and she may possibly hurt you so much again that it makes you pull away from everyone. I’m glad that the spell pulled you out of your funk. Just don’t let her put you in another one.”

“Ugh, this would be so much easier if I had feelings for someone else.”

Regina’s heart skipped a beat hearing this. Emma admitted she still had feelings for her. She could fix this. She had to fix this. She made her way out of the back door of the diner repeating Emma’s words over and over again. Of course, it wasn’t great to hear that Emma wished her feelings would go away, but to be honest, with how she treated the woman, that was to be expected. But the fact that those feelings were still there? That she could work with. A genuine smile graced her face as she thought of a new plan of action. 

Meanwhile, the two at the diner had no idea their conversation had an unknown listener. 

“Well, you know that I’m always here”, Ruby said with a wink. The two shared a chuckle. Life would be easier if the two held romantic feelings for each other, but they both knew the love they shared was not that. “Anyways babe, you know I am always here for you, but Granny is going to kill me if I don’t get back to work.”

“Thanks, Rubes, you’re the best.”

“I know. Oh, and if you want to thank me, one of these days get the grandparents to babysit so we can have a girls night at my place. Booze is on you!”

“You have yourself a deal. Bye Rubes!”

“Text me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time we will see our ladies are finally going to have their long-overdue talk. I have the next chapter basically finished, I might just be tempted into posting it earlier than I originally intended to... :) As always, thank you for reading and following along this journey.


	21. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina finally talk.

**Regina: Ms. Swan, please meet me at my house at 7 oclock.**

Emma sighed as she opened up the text message she received. She got the text about 8 hours earlier, but she had yet to respond. With Regina, she wasn’t really sure what she could expect from this meeting. 

She glanced at the clock, 6:45. She wrestled with the text all day. She sighed as she picked up her jacket and headed towards the door. She needed to face Regina, she could do this.

A short walk later and Emma found herself standing outside of 108. She was too nervous to knock on the door. She knew they needed to talk, she wanted to repair their relationship, but she wished that they could fast forward to everything being okay. 

Just as she was about to knock, Regia swung the door open and greeted her hesitant guest. It took Emma a second to register that she was no longer facing a closed door. A realization that couldn’t come sooner as she realized her closed fist was about to make contact with Regina’s face. 

“Sorry for frightening you. I noticed your arrival a few minutes ago. I can’t say I blame your hesitation. Thank you for coming, it really means a lot to me.”

Emma was taken aback for a moment as she realized that Regina’s words were completely sincere. She was a bit nervous as Regina knew she was awkwardly standing outside her door, but she appreciated that the other woman hadn’t made a snarky comment about it. That thought unnerved her as it showed just how badly their relationship had regressed. 

“Please come in dear.” 

Regina silently led Emma into the study where she motioned for Emma to take a seat. It wasn’t unusual for the two, as they did this quite often before everything went wrong between them. It was almost instinct for the two to end up in this room.

She didn’t know where to start. After handing Emma a glass of cider, she was stumped at where to begin. She had metally rehearsed this conversation all day. She was nervous that the conversation wasn’t going to happen at all. Emma had never responded to her message. Not that she could blame the other woman, but the lack of response put her especially on edge. This conversation they needed to have was extremely important. The outcome of their talk would essentially determine if the duo would be able to mend their relationship or not. 

The thought of not mending their relationship made Regina feel sick. It was better not to dwell on this. There was a power behind positive thoughts, yes?

At this moment Emma was aware that she hadn’t said a single word since arriving at the mansion. This shy and bashful Regina was not a side to the woman she had ever seen before. 

“What is all of this?” She couldn’t take the silence anymore. Regina was normally so well put together and driven with such purpose. Witnessing such hesitation from the woman made Emma uncomfortable. 

“The apology and the explanation you deserve.”

Regina noticed the surprise on her guest’s features. Those sea-green eyes that she adored were opened wide. Emma opened her mouth to respond but as if the words were stolen out of her, she promptly shut her mouth. She could tell that the blonde was unsure of what to say, so she decided to go on.

“I didn’t mean to, but I overheard you and Ruby speaking at the diner”. Regina noticed that Emma was starting to get defensive at this, so she hurried to explain before the other woman closed herself off. “I was just leaving the restroom when I heard you say my name. At first, I thought you were calling me, hence why I walked towards you. I apologize for listening to your private conversation, it really wasn’t my intention”.

Emma nodded her understanding signaling Regina to continue.

“What I overheard, well it alarmed me tremendously. It gave me the courage to as you would put it, ‘pull my head out of my ass’”. She grimaced a bit as she noticed that she still hadn’t received a response from the other woman. She was hoping that her last quip would at least earn her a small smile from the woman. She had no such luck. 

“So this is it. Just like you so bravely did a few weeks back, I am baring my heart out to you. It is the least I could do to make amends. Emma, I know that I won’t be able to truly tell you how sorry I am over my actions, but I hope you allow me the opportunity to spend the rest of our lives trying.”

Emma couldn’t help but scoff at this comment. Her mind still hadn’t caught up to the conversation. Frankly, she didn’t know how she felt about all of this. But Regina’s last comment left a sour taste in her mouth. To her, it sounded as if she just  _ had _ to forgive Regina. In part, she had forgiven the woman and her heart still sang whenever she saw the brunette, but it was up to her to decide if and when she would be forgiven. 

“I’m sorry that sounded a bit presumptuous. I wouldn't dare kid myself that you would possibly still be interested in me romantically after my actions. I hope that my apology will salvage our friendship at the very least.”

“I believe that the best place to begin would be to explain my thoughts at the time, no matter how warped they were. Emma, when you declared your love for me, it was like my heart had known no greater joy. The love and excitement I felt at that moment, was the equivalent to holding Henry for the first time. You both revived parts of my heart that I didn’t know I still had.”

Regina lost herself for a moment thinking about her two favorite people. Henry and Emma. They were her whole world. What fascinated her was that it always came down to the woman sitting in front of her. If it weren’t for the blonde with the biggest heart she had ever seen (save for Henry), she wouldn’t have her precious son. Henry was the one who saved her from herself, yet Emma also saved her too. She saved Regina by giving her Henry, and then again when she swept into their lives. Not that Regina was too excited about her presence at first, but now she couldn’t think about her life without Emma. 

She was pulled out of her musings about Emma when the woman in question spoke up. 

“Then why did you say all of those awful things? You didn’t just reject me, Regina, you destroyed me. You wanted to squash me like I was a bug under your heel. If you loved me, why did you hurt me more than anyone has ever hurt me before?”

“I’m so sorry my love-”

“DON’T! You don’t get to call me that.”

“You are right, I apologize. Your life has been filled with endless amounts of pain, but to know that I was the greatest cause? Emma, that thought tears my up inside. How could I be worse than Rumple’s spawn?”

“I was stupid to trust him. He was the first person I really opened up to and I got burned. Yes, he set me up and was a major reason I didn’t get to keep my son, but it was a lesson learned. With you, after all these years I actually believed it was okay to trust another person. I go against ALL of my instincts and make myself vulnerable to you, I declare my freaking love for you! And you used my insecurities against me! So yes, you hurt me the most!”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t questioning your pain - it was a rhetorical question. But I’m glad you explained. Hearing those words felt like someone dropped an anvil on my heart, but I needed to hear that, you needed to say it. It isn’t your words that hurt me, it was my own actions, my words that tore you apart. What hurts me the most is that I hurt one of the two people in this world that I would never want to harm.”

“Emma, when I said those things, I was hiding behind my old walls. I hid behind the Evil Queen because I was scared to accept your love. I was scared that I was going to get hurt. But beyond that, I was scared that I would hurt you.

I know this makes no sense. And I can see how you are dying to interrupt me right now or worse storm away, which you have every right to by the way. But in my mind, it made sense to cause you some pain by rejecting you than to utterly destroy you down the line. I wasn’t made for love. Somehow I would come up with a way to unbelievably hurt you. I just couldn’t.”

“So you hurt me anyways!”

“Yes, I know. I never said that my thoughts were constructive. Emma having you and losing you, it would tear me apart. I wouldn’t be able to survive that! Look at what I did after I lost Daniel. I completely lost myself and became the Evil Queen!”

Regina shook her head thinking about her past. She had done some truly awful things. Back then she thought it was all justified due to the pain that she had suffered; it was only fair to create some pain of her own in the world. All that destruction from losing a man she had loved for only a short time. Their love was so naive and young. She couldn’t imagine what atrocities she would commit if she ever lost someone as important as Henry or Emma.

“What I felt for him is only a fraction of what I feel for you. I thought he was my one True Love. I was wrong. I was oh so wrong. I will always love him, but he doesn’t hold a candle to you. You, Emma, you are  _ everything _ .”

“Bullshit! You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You have always been stronger than you give yourself credit. You would never go back the being the Queen. You have Henry. You have yourself. Face it, you were scared of getting hurt so you hurt me instead.”

“Oh Emma, how you can always see the best in me, I will never understand. Even now you have more faith in myself than I do. You give me far too much credit. But you’re right. I did hurt you. It was stupid, it was cowardly, and it was utterly reprehensible. I just hope that you allow me the chance to grovel for your forgiveness. You have to know how difficult this is for me? I never apologize, I have lived  _ decades _ never making a single apology.”

Regina set aside her long-forgotten glass of cider to make her way toward where Emma was sitting. She wanted to take the woman into her arms, yet that was a right she lost due to her own actions. So instead she knelt in front of the woman who held her heart. While she didn’t gather Emma in her arms, she did take a chance in grabbing the woman’s hands into her own. A chance that seemed to pay off as the warm pale hands remained cupped by her own. 

“Emma, here I am literally on my knees begging for a chance, just a chance, to earn your forgiveness. I  _ need _ you in my life. Those weeks after I ruined everything, I kept snapping at you because I needed an excuse to see you. I was too stubborn, too much of an ass to apologize to you as any sane person would have. What is clear is that I need you in my life. Do you think you have any desire to ever accept my apology?”

Emma didn’t know how to react. Regina was saying everything she had hoped the woman would say for months now. She knew in her heart that the brunette was being sincere, but she was scared. Oh how she was scared. If things weren’t complicated before, they sure were now. Ruby was right; she couldn’t afford to allow Regina to hurt her again. Yet it was foolish to think that accepting an apology would give Regina the power to hurt her. The woman held her heart, she would always have the ability to hurt her.

“Hearing you apologize is everything I’ve wanted and needed these last few months, but how do I know things will be different this time? How do I know you really mean it?”

“I wish I knew. If you told me what you needed from me to earn my forgiveness, well I would do everything in my power to do so. I guess it isn’t that easy? I am just hoping you would give me the opportunity to be there for you. If you need anything from me, I will do it. If you need me emotionally, I will be there. I believe that to even begin making up for my actions, I need the chance to rebuild your trust in me. Do you think that is possible? Is that something you would even want?” 

“Honestly Regina, I’m not sure. I mean, of course, I do want to repair everything, I guess I am just confused about what I’m feeling. Going to that other world, seeing you or a version of you dead, it did something to me. As I looked at her, I could only think of you, and I felt like something inside of me had died. Within the first few hours of the spell, I knew I needed to find a way to at least regain our friendship. I care about you. I care about you so much even after you hurt me so deeply, and honestly, that scares me.”

Emma removed one of the hands that Regina was holding protectively near her heart. She swiped away at one of the many tears that found their way traveling down her cheeks. 

“I’m going to need time. I can’t just jump back and pretend like nothing happened because you seriously hurt me. But I appreciate your apology - and I do accept it, but it is still going to take a while to fully forgive you.”

“Emma, that is honestly more than I could have ever hoped for. I promise you I will work hard to regain your trust. I promise I won’t make you regret taking another chance on me.”

“While we are still talking about this, I’m not sure how much you heard with Ruby and me, and with what you just said. But you do know that right now I am only talking about friendship right? I can’t even think about anything more than that.”

It was a split second but Emma could see the disappointment in Regina’s face. She hid it quickly behind a smile, but she could see that her words affected the other woman. Emma bit her lip wondering if she should say more. If she told Regina that she still had feelings for her, that she still loved her, that would be confusing, no? She decided to keep that to herself lest she give the other woman false hope. 

“Of course Emma. Like I said earlier, I realized that I need you in my life in any way possible. If you need me to be your friend, then I am more than happy to oblige.”  _ Of course, I will always regret that I had your love and I pushed it away. That it pains me every time I look at you knowing that if I wasn’t for my own actions, we would be together. _ She kept her thoughts to herself, but she wanted the other woman to know how she felt. Yet a part of her felt like it was unfair to Emma to keep bringing up her feelings. Emma made it clear that she only wanted friendship from Regina, so that is exactly what she is going to get. 

The two smiled at each other unsure what to do next. Emma figured that now would probably be the best time to make her departure. The conversation put them on the right path, but things were still awkward between them. They probably would be for a while.

Regina sensed that Emma was going to make an excuse to leave soon. So before the other woman could depart, she spoke up, “Emma, before you leave, there is something I would like to show you”. 

=============================================================

“Is this Alex’s room?” Emma asked although the answer to her question was quite evident. The room was definitely fit for a young princess. But as Emma took in the decor, she realized that the room screamed Emma and Regina.

While purple and yellow are not two colors that she thought would traditionally go together, the room combined them so effortlessly. The soft lilac walls with the yellow accents, they worked together in a way she would have never imagined. Alex’s bed had a castle-shaped headboard, making the room fit for a princess without being overbearing. Sitting prominently on the bed was one large stuffed swan. On the wall that held a bay window was a hand-painted depiction of the Enchanted Forest, allowing Alex to keep a part of her old home with her. It seemed like Regina paid attention to every little detail that went into the room.

Regina nervously bit her lip as she took in Emma’s reaction to the bedroom. Emma’s eyes were wide as they darted around to various parts of the room. Her eyes seemed to gleam in awe from what she saw, but she was still nervous. She really hoped that both mother and daughter liked the room. She made sure that she did it all herself. Not a single drop of magic went into the making of the room. It was quite a bit more work to do it this way, but it was her simple gesture of showing how much she cared, even if she was the only one who knew of said gesture.

“So? What do you think?” 

“I have no words. This is just incredible! She is going to absolutely love it. Hell, I love it. Did you paint that mural yourself?”

Regina nodded her head with a shy smile. She was over the moon seeing how much Emma liked the room. Now she couldn’t wait to show the young girl the room herself.

“Well, this is only part of what I wanted to show you. Could you follow me?” Regina flicked off the light of Alex’s room and led her across the hall. The room beside her own. She opened the door and flicked on the light.

“What is this?”

“This, this is your room, Emma.” Regina was quick to continue when she saw Emma’s eyebrows raise. She didn’t seem upset, but she didn’t want her to jump to any wrong ideas.

“Before you say anything please let me explain. When you said that you hadn’t been back at the mansion since my foolish actions, I wanted to replace those memories with better ones. This isn’t me forcing you to move in. It was a rash decision that I made without taking into account your feelings. I know how important your house is to you, how much your home means to you. I also know that you are hesitant to be away from our daughter for so long. So this is my offer to you. Whenever you want, you can stay here in your room. I want the mansion to become your home too.” 

Regina walked over to the dresser and retrieved the small key that laid upon it. She reached out for Emma’s hand and placed it into her palm.

“A key?”

“Of course. You have a key to the mansion as it is your home too. Use it as often or as little as you would like. I hope that this allows you to have better memories of the mansion instead of the day that I tore out your heart along with my own. I understand that this won’t solve all of our problems, but I hope that it puts us on the right path.”

“Thank you, Regina. You’re right, this definitely is a great first step.”

“One more thing. I know that we had a squabble about visitation earlier this week. I just wanted to tell you that I am okay with Alex staying with me on the weekends.”

“Is this a part of your apology? Are you only allowing that to get me to forgive you?”

“No, well it is part of it. Emma, earlier we talked about how I would need to gain your trust back. This is me putting you and Alex first. I am agreeing to weekends only because I trust eventually I will end up seeing her more than that. I know what you are feeling right now. I felt quite a bit of that with you and Henry. I understand that I need to take it easy on you. I hope that in the future that the visitation schedule won’t be as strict or that you will come over with Alex beyond just weekends. What I am trying to say is that I trust you. If agreeing with that schedule is going to relieve some of your stress, then I am going to do it.”

“Regina, I - I, thank you for tonight. It was everything I’ve needed for so long. I’m sorry you got me a crying mess.” She wiped the tears from her face in vain. There really wasn’t coming back from her red-rimmed eyes and blotchy cheeks. She was a mess. But unlike the trend lately, she was crying for good reasons. “Can we talk some more tomorrow? Maybe when I am not an emotional mess?”

Regina beamed at Emma’s words. The happiness in her tone sent butterflies to her stomach. Emma wanted to see her again. It was progress.

  
“Of course dear. Goodnight, and I shall see you tomorrow.”

Emma nodded her thanks and got out of there. With a puff of white smoke, she landed right into her bed. She felt so emotionally drained but in a good way. They had finally talked. Of course, she felt like they would need to talk some more, she really wanted to make sure Regina understood how she felt through all of this. But it finally seemed like Regina was looking at this from her perspective. She seemed genuinely remorseful for her actions and willing to hear Emma out. It was everything that she needed to hear from the other woman, at least for now. Now she could barely keep her eyes open. She used what little energy she had left to change into her pyjamas. She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow, but damn if it wasn’t the best night’s sleep she’s had in a long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Progress right? I did end up posting this a few days earlier than I intended thanks to your lovely comments. I adore your comments by the way! I did wait a bit before posting as I wanted to add some more content for this update. I hope you enjoyed it!


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